BOTH SIDES SEE HOPE IN MARIJUANA DEBATE

Both believers in and skeptics of the medical benefits of marijuana
found some reason for hope in Gov. M. Jodi Rell's veto Tuesday of a
bill that would have legalized its use for those with chronic and
terminal illnesses.

Mark Braunstein is a librarian at Connecticut College who was
paralyzed in a diving accident and said he uses marijuana to relieve
chronic pain. He said the fact that the bill made it through both
chambers of the state Legislature before being vetoed by Rell showed
that progress has been made.

Rell's veto "wasn't a surprise or a disappointment to me, because she
had only expressed reservations beforehand," said Braunstein, who has
been active for about a decade in support of legalizing marijuana for
medical uses. The next attempt, which supporters may not make until
Rell is out of office, could be the one that finally succeeds, he said.

Lorenzo Jones, executive director of the Better Way Foundation, one of
the groups that lobbied for the bill, agreed. "We don't see Gov.
Rell's veto as a loss," he said, because of the wide support in the
legislature and shown in polls of Connecticut voters.

His group is hoping for a face-to-face meeting with Rell to discuss
the issue. "It's obvious the Senate and the House listened to
Connecticut voters," Jones said. "The question is whether Rell
listened to voters."

Currently 11 other states including Rhode Island have legalized
marijuana for medical purposes. Federal law, however, still prohibits
the practice.

Dr. Edward Hargis is grateful for Rell's action. Hargis, a private
practice physician who works in the Pain Management Center at The
William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, said the governor stopped what
would have been a huge mistake. "It would open up a huge can of
worms," he said. "It would be disastrous for our society."

Hargis said he has never had a patient he couldn't help with the
prescription painkillers currently available, and believes that those
who turn to marijuana for relief haven't exhausted all their legal
options or haven't gotten adequate care. In addition, he's seen
patients hurt by using marijuana. "I've seen patients who've had some
mind-altering psychological effects," he said. One he recalled had to
be admitted to the hospital twice after using marijuana for what he
called an "acute psychiatric event."

The bill would have allowed those suffering from certain chronic
illnesses to grow up to four marijuana plants in their homes, and to
use the drug by either smoking or eating it to relieve pain, tremors
and other physiological afflictions. Hargis said the bill would have
allowed the drug to be used in a nonstandardized way, where its dosage
and frequency of use would be difficult to regulate. He is also
concerned that it would be too difficult to control the use and
distribution of the drug, and that some doctors would wind up in legal
trouble for overprescribing it.

Hargis said there is a lack of data demonstrating that marijuana is
really beneficial for pain management and other medical uses. His view
corresponded to a statement last year from the Food and Drug
Administration that "no sound medical studies" support the medical use
of marijuana. The FDA's statement contradicted a 1999 review by the
Institute of Medicine that found marijuana was "moderately well-suited
for particular conditions, such as chemotherapy-induced nausea and
vomiting and AIDS wasting."

AIDS patients and their advocates, led by the Connecticut AIDS
Resource Coalition, were among those lobbying for the bill's passage.
Sandra Brindamour, executive director of the Alliance for Living in
New London, said she is hoping a future effort will succeed. "We have
members for whom marijuana does give them relief, and gives them an
appetite," she said. "They're dealing with enough. To deprive people
of something that benefits them, and is basically harmless ..."

One of the strongest opponents of the bill was state Rep. Toni
Boucher, R-Wilton. She was relieved by Rell's veto, she said, because
she has come to the conclusion through her research that people who
smoke marijuana for medical reasons are susceptible to the same
respiratory problems as cigarette smokers, as well as mental health
problems. "It's not as mild as people assume," she said. "We don't
want people to become sicker."

Any future attempt to legalize medical marijuana in Connecticut, she
said, may be made moot if Savitex, a marijuana-based painkiller made
by a British company, is approved for use in this country. "Then we
won't run up against federal law," she said.