COHEN PROMOTING MEDICAL MARIJUANA

NASHVILLE -- State Sen. Steve Cohen said the legalization of medical
marijuana will be one of his top priorities next session, even though some
Republicans are already disapproving of the idea.

"I don't think I'd be willing to consider it," said Sen. Ron Ramsey,
R-Blountville, who is vying to become speaker of the Senate, where the
Republican Party is enjoying its first elected majority in more than a
century. "There's not enough medical evidence to support that, and most law
enforcement agencies would be opposed to it." But Cohen, D-Memphis,
believes people who are sick and suffering are being denied a drug that
could help them.

"When you see somebody whose life is ending and you know there's something
that would ameliorate their pain and make life less ghastly, it's incumbent
upon all of us to allow it," said Cohen, who's watched several friends
battle the side effects of cancer treatment. "There's no reason why society
should not allow drugs that can be helpful."

In a 2003 report, the American Medical Association cited studies showing
that compounds in the drug can help people suffering from a wide range of
illnesses, from glaucoma and AIDS-related weight loss, to epilepsy and the
nausea associated with some cancer treatments.

But the association also said there are health risks involved with
marijuana, and recommended that the National Institutes of Health fund
further research into medical uses of the drug.

State Rep. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, a nurse who was recently elected to the
Senate, said legal prescription drugs are already available for the
conditions that medical marijuana might treat. She and other opponents
believe medical marijuana is being used as a ploy by those who want to
completely legalize the drug.

"The whole issue is a ruse for saying marijuana should be a legal product,"
Black said. "We have perfectly sound, legal medications that doctors can
prescribe that will take care of anything marijuana can take care of."

Barbara Walker, 58, of Nashville said she suffers chronic back pain and
weight loss associated with an immune disorder, and has experienced side
effects from the oxycodone she was prescribed for pain.

She is one of about 10 area residents working with a statewide network
called the Tennessee Alliance for Medical Marijuana. Walker said she'd like
to use the drug for her ailments, but within the law.

"No one wants to be outside the law, but at the same time I'm the one who's
living with severe pain," she said. "You're either miserable or scared
you're going to go to jail."

Some studies have shown that marijuana can stimulate appetite and promote
weight gain as well as ease pain.

Paul Kuhn said his deceased wife found the most relief from marijuana when
she was undergoing treatment for cancer. She was taking a prescription drug
called Zofran for nausea, he said, but the side effects of the drug
included liver damage, and the cancer had spread to her liver.

"One puff of marijuana worked better than the Zofran," the 61-year-old
said. "That was the best prescription around, and it wasn't that good."

Krissy Oechslin, a spokeswoman for the Marijuana Policy Project in
Washington, a leading advocacy group for medical marijuana, cites a 2002
Time/CNN nationwide poll showing 80 percent of Americans support medical
marijuana use.