PATIENTS LOBBY TO EASE LAWS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

WASHINGTON (AP) - Brian Fitzgerald has been growing a marijuana plant
in the window of his Massachusetts home for years, using it to treat
his multiple sclerosis.

On Tuesday, he and others lobbied Congress to make that treatment
legal.

More than 20 seriously ill patients urged lawmakers to pass
legislation sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., that would allow
states to pass laws sanctioning the use of marijuana for medicinal
purposes.

But Frank acknowledged Tuesday that "with the Republicans in power,
there is virtually no chance" of the bill becoming law.

But, he said that the public's attention to the issue could put
pressure on lawmakers to give it more consideration.

Fitzgerald, 57, of Springfield, said the marijuana helps ease his MS
spasms. "When you have MS, your whole body is doing weird things and I
hate it," he said. "Marijuana does the job."

For Marcy Duda of Ware, Mass., the headaches caused by her brain
surgery feel like someone is stabbing an ice pick into her temple "and
twisting it." Marijuana, she said, is the only thing that eases the
pain.

"I smoke marijuana," she said, adding that she used to grow it herself
but now has "some really good activist friends who supply it for me."

Duda and Fitzgerald were among the group that has been lobbying
lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, along with the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Paul Armentano, policy analyst for NORML, said scientific evidence in
favor of marijuana use is mounting.

"It's time for Congress and others to acknowledge cannabis' emerging
role as a therapeutic agent and stand up for the rights of patients
who ease their pain and suffering through the use of marijuana, he
said

Under current law, federal authorities can step in and enforce
marijuana laws in states that allow doctors to recommend it to their
patients.

The Bush administration has been stepping up its efforts to crack down
on doctors who prescribe marijuana. Doctors are allowed to recommend
marijuana in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine,
Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

Last week, the Bush administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let
federal authorities punish doctors who recommend pot to their
patients. The move came in response to a ruling by the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which ruled in October that
physicians have a constitutional right to speak candidly with their
patients about marijuana without fear of government sanctions.