BILL WOULD ALLOW SERIOUSLY ILL ILLINOISANS TO LEGALLY USE MARIJUANA

SPRINGFIELD -- Irvin Rosenfeld credits the 10 to 12 marijuana joints he
smokes each day with keeping him alive.

The Florida man suffers from a disease that causes bone tumors to develop
throughout his body. The disease causes joint inflammation, muscle tears,
severe muscle spasms and hemorrhaging.

Rosenfeld tried mainstream drugs like morphine, but the only thing that's
given him real relief for all his symptoms, he says, has been marijuana.

Now 52 and a stockbroker in Ft. Lauderdale, he has been legally smoking for
22 years as one of a small group of patients who receive marijuana from the
federal government as part of a medical cannabis project.

Rosenfeld plans to come to Springfield this week to testify in favor of
legislation that would allow seriously ill people in Illinois to legally
use marijuana under the recommendation of their doctors.

"This medicine should be in the hands of physicians, not politicians or the
police," he said.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, would allow people
with debilitating diseases such as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and
chronic pain to legally possess two and half ounces of usable marijuana --
about a month's supply -- and up to 12 cannabis plants.

They would confidentially register with the Illinois Department of Human
Services for an identification card that would exempt them from potential
arrest and prosecution. Ten other states already allow marijuana for
medicinal use.

McKeon said there are seriously ill people who believe that marijuana
helps. For some, it helps control chronic pain. For others, it stimulates
their appetite so they can eat or helps them control nausea so they keep
other medicines down.

McKeon, who himself is living with HIV, said patients don't want to break
the law, but some are taking that risk for relief from pain.

"Through the grace of God and modern chemistry I'm doing fairly well. I
don't know if my health was to progress to cancer or (something else) what
I would do, but I'd like to have the opportunity without being criminalized
in the process,"

Similar legislation has stalled in the past, but co-sponsor Rep. John
Fritchey, D-Chicago, said it's time for lawmakers to get beyond political
posturing.

"This is a health-care bill. It's not a law-enforcement bill. It's not a
drug bill," Fritchey said. "This is a bill that is about compassion and a
recognition that traditional medicines don't always work in all circumstances."

A medical marijuana bill also has been introduced in Iowa this year. Jim
Getman of Davenport is director of Iowa NORML, part of the national push to
reform all marijuana laws. He said the Illinois and Iowa bills are steps in
the right direction.

But law enforcement groups such as the Illinois Association of Chiefs of
Police oppose the bill, saying marijuana still is illegal in the eyes of
the federal government and there are other legitimate and tested
medications on the market.

"It's nothing more than an attempt to backdoor the legalization of
marijuana," said Laimutis Nargelenas, manager of governmental relations.

Illinois passed a law in 1978 allowing for medical marijuana research but
it has never been used.

The latest legislation allows too much leeway for abuse and too little
control over how the marijuana would be grown, Nargelenas said. Designated
caregivers can be chosen to grow the marijuana if the patient doesn't want
to, but potential criminals might be able to skirt the law under the guise
of helping the sick.

On top of that, the legislation threatens suspension or termination of
state or local police officers who work with federal law enforcement to
arrest or prosecute someone who qualifies for the Illinois program.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide in the coming months if the
federal government can prosecute those using marijuana even for medicinal
purposes. Despite that, McKeon is pushing his legislation now.

"I'm unconcerned about the Supreme Court decision. Let them do what the
Supreme Court will do and in the meantime, we're moving forward," he said.

The Illinois Nurses Association has come out in support of better access to
marijuana for therapeutic uses. And approval among the general public seems
to be growing, McKeon said.

AARP surveyed some of its members last year and 72 percent said they
support marijuana used for medicinal purposes if recommended by a doctor.
Of those surveyed, 55 percent say they would obtain marijuana for a
suffering loved one.

Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform, the group that helped write
McKeon's bill, conducted a random poll of about 800 Illinois residents in
2002 and found that 67 percent believe a doctor should be allowed to
prescribe marijuana to relieve pain and suffering. It jumped to 77 percent
if the patient is terminally ill.

Dr. Andrea Barthwell, a former deputy drug czar for the White House, now
lives in River Forest and is traveling the state speaking out against
marijuana use in general. She's opposed to the latest medical marijuana
push because it subverts the traditional drug research process.

That also concerns Kankakee oncologist Dr. Mehmet Sipahi, medical director
of the Rush-Riverside Cancer Institute.

He said it would be hard to say no to a terminally-ill patient who is in a
lot of pain, but he and many other doctors would be reluctant to recommend
marijuana without more clinical evidence that it works.

"I personally would like to see real solid scientific research before I
would be willing to use it."