HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Gov. M. Jodi Rell vetoed a bill Tuesday that
would have legalized medicinal marijuana, acknowledging she struggled
with the decision.

"I am not unfamiliar with the incredible pain and heartbreak
associated with battling cancer," Rell, a Republican, wrote in her
veto letter. "I have spoken and met with dozens of people on this
issue, all of whom have presented their positions passionately and
articulately."

But Rell, a cancer survivor, said she is concerned that the
legislation sends the wrong message about drug use to Connecticut
youth, and also does not spell out where patients and their caregivers
would obtain marijuana plants.

"There are no pharmacies, storefronts or mail order catalogs where
patients or caregivers can legally purchase marijuana plants and
seeds," she said. "I am troubled by the fact that, in essence, this
bill forces law-abiding citizens to seek out drug dealers to make
their marijuana purchases."

Rell said she is also concerned that the bill is not limited to
terminally ill patients.

The bill won final bipartisan legislative approval earlier this month,
capping a five-year struggle that pitted broader patients' rights
against concerns of easier access to an illicit drug. TV talk show
host Montel Williams, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, came
to the state Capitol to urge support for the bill. He said he uses
marijuana in various forms to help alleviate intense pain and
debilitating symptoms.

legislation would have allowed residents older than 18 with specific
medical conditions diagnosed by a physician to cultivate and use
marijuana to relieve the draining symptoms of diseases such as cancer
and MS. Patients with written certification from their physicians
would have to register with the Department of Consumer Protection.

Lorenzo Jones, executive director of A Better Way Foundation, a
nonprofit organization that supported the legislation, said Tuesday he
had not known Rell would veto the bill. The organization expected to
issue a formal response later Tuesday, he said.

According to the national Marijuana Policy Project, 12 states allow
patients to use marijuana despite federal laws against it. A 13th
state, Maryland, protects patients from jail but not arrest.

Connecticut already has a medical marijuana law, one of the first in
the nation. Under the 1981 law, a doctor can prescribe the illegal
drug to relieve nausea associated with chemotherapy and eye pressure
from glaucoma.

But the law is unworkable because, under federal law, physicians who
prescribe marijuana can be sent to prison and risk having their
medical licenses revoked.