MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA SUPPORTED

When Penny Bacchiochi's husband was dying of cancer, an operation to
remove a tumor on his spine left him a paraplegic.

Suffering intense pain, he could find no relief from a series of
medications until a doctor recommended an unusual treatment: smoking
marijuana.

That was more than 20 years ago, and Bacchiochi is now a state
legislator. She told her story Wednesday at the state Capitol, helping
persuade her colleagues to approve the use of medical marijuana for
patients with debilitating conditions.

On a historic vote, the House of Representatives voted 75 to 71 to
allow sick patients to use marijuana for medical purposes without fear
of being arrested.

"I know that I had to risk prosecution and the fear of having a
criminal record, but I did it because I would have done anything to
see someone that I loved find relief," Bacchiochi said on the floor of
the House. "And I think any one of you who had been in my position
would have done the exact same thing."

Although the vote Wednesday represented a major victory for advocates
of medical marijuana, the bill's future remains unclear. After its
passage, the bill was referred to the legislature's finance committee.
If passed by the committee as early as today, the bill would need to
be approved by the House again and then by the Senate before the
legislative session ends at midnight Wednesday.

Still, Bacchiochi, a 42-year-old Somers Republican in her first term,
had a big smile on her face after the vote.

"Honestly, after the debate, I didn't think it would pass," Bacchiochi
said, noting the strong opposition by many veteran
legislators.

Most of the top leaders - including House Speaker Moira K. Lyons,
Majority Leader James Amann, and Republican leader Robert Ward - all
voted against the bill.

The opponents said the bill was essentially a back door maneuver for
legalizing marijuana, which they described as a dangerous drug.

Opponents said that most of the major medical associations - including
the American Cancer Society, the American Glaucoma Society and the
American Academy of Ophthalmology - have never endorsed the use of
medical marijuana. The American Medical Association, officials said,
has taken a neutral position.

Rep. Robert Farr, R-West Hartford, said that the medical uses of
marijuana have been overblown, saying there is more harm than good.

"I believe this bill is essentially a cruel hoax," Farr said. "Taking
marijuana does not help people with glaucoma. It actually damages the
eye. ... It is a dangerous drug."

Rep. Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, said some people might wrongly
dismiss the use of marijuana because they have the attitude that they
"used to put on a Jethro Tull album, light up a bone. What's the big
deal? We turned out all right."

The controversy over medical marijuana has a long history, dating to
1981 when two rookie legislators named John Rowland and Moira Lyons
were serving in their first year in the House. They voted for a bill
that allowed doctors to write prescriptions for medical marijuana, but
lawmakers said Wednesday that Connecticut doctors have avoided doing
that over the past 23 years because federal law prevents it.

Nine states have medical marijuana laws, even though the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled unanimously three years ago that medical marijuana is illegal.

Nationally, advocates have watched Connecticut's action closely as the
bill passed three committees and then the full House.

"We are dismayed that the bill is not immediately advancing to the
Senate," said Neal Levine, director of state policies for the
Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.

"In its floor vote," he said, "the House recognized what ordinary
people in Connecticut and across the nation have understood for some
time: It makes no sense to subject patients battling cancer, multiple
sclerosis or AIDS to arrest and jail for simply trying to relieve some
of their suffering."