SPITZER IS OPEN TO NEW YORK LEGALIZING MEDICINAL MARIJUANA

Governor Changes Position After Earlier Opposition

ALBANY -- Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer, in a reversal of a campaign
position, said Tuesday he could support legislation legalizing the
use of marijuana for certain medicinal purposes.

The governor's position comes as lawmakers stepped up a push in the
final two weeks of the 2007 session for New York to join 12 other
states and allow marijuana for those suffering from cancer, multiple
sclerosis and other painful conditions.

In a debate last summer, Spitzer said he opposed medical marijuana.
Now he said he is "open" to the idea after being swayed by advocates
in the past couple of months.

"On many issues, hopefully you learn, you study, you evolve. This is
one where I had, as a prosecutor, a presumption against the use of
any narcotic which wasn't designed purely for medicinal and medical
effect. And now there are ways that persuaded me that it can be done
properly," the governor told reporters.

In 2005, lawmakers were close to a measure legalizing medical
marijuana but dropped the effort after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling
that said the federal government could prosecute cases against those
using marijuana in states that had legalized its use.

But after federal officials signaled no desire to prosecute
individual patients using marijuana, a slowly growing number of
states has begun moving ahead again to permit the drug to be used in
tightly controlled circumstances. Advocates, who include groups
representing physicians, nurses and hospices, liken medicinal
marijuana to morphine and other drugs that are used to treat pain but
are otherwise illegal on the streets.

A measure pending in the Assembly would permit the drug's use for
life-threatening illnesses and diseases, which could include
everything from cancer and AIDS to hepatitis-C, and any other
conditions designated by the state health commissioner, a provision
the Spitzer administration insisted on, legislative sources said.

The Assembly bill, written by Health Committee Chairman Richard
Gottfried, DManhattan, is supported by a bipartisan assortment of
upstate and downstate lawmakers, including Buffalo Democratic
Assembly members Sam Hoyt and Crystal Peoples.

In the State Senate, the author of the 2005 measure, Sen. Vincent
Leibell, a Putnam County Republican, is preparing to quickly
introduce legislation again with hopes of passage next week. "I think
that's very significant," Leibell said of Spitzer's support. The
issue has been backed in the past in the Senate by Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno, a Republican and a prostate cancer survivor.

Federal court rulings have greatly altered how people medically
eligible for marijuana in New York could obtain the drug.

A measure two years ago permitted hospitals, pharmacies and nonprofit
groups to apply to grow and sell marijuana for medical use. But the
courts ruled the federal government could prosecute, and it has done
so in California by raiding state-sanctioned marijuana dispensers.
So, New York officials have taken a different route: Marijuana users
would be on their own.

Legislation in Albany would permit an eligible patient to grow up to
12 marijuana plants or be in possession of up to 2.5 ounces of
harvested marijuana. To get the marijuana, though, patients would
need to find their own suppliers, whether on the streets or by other means.

The law would still make it illegal for dealers to sell them
marijuana - though not illegal if they give it away. And it would not
be illegal for the patient to purchase or possess the drug.

Gottfried, who said the measure now has a greater chance of passage
than it has in a decade, believes it could help thousands of New
Yorkers suffering from the effects of chemotherapy or severe pain or
loss of appetite for HIV-positive individuals. "The current
prohibition is political correctness run amok," Gottfried said.

The State Association of District Attorneys has taken no formal
position on the issue, said Rockland District Attorney Michael
Bongiorno, president of the group.

"Essentially, personal marijuana use for all intents and purposes has
been decriminalized anyway in New York," said Erie County District
Attorney Frank J. Clark, pointing to state law that makes a first
marijuana possession subject to only a violation with a $100 fine.

Clark said that he could see some "general benefit" to a medical
marijuana law if it "were crafted in the right way and very strictly limited."

But, he added, "You mean to tell me the only drug that can treat this
particular condition or relieve this discomfort or pain is marijuana?
I'm a little skeptical from a medical standpoint."

The Assembly measure requires certification from a physician that no
other treatment alternatives are available before marijuana can be
recommended for a patient. The individual also must be a regular
patient of the physician.

The state's small but influential Conservative Party opposes the
legislation. "We think it's the wrong way for society to go," said
Michael Long, the party's chairman. He said the measure could
encourage fraud among unethical physicians trying to cash in on
writing prescriptions, and he noted the federal courts have already
spoken on the issue. "We are looking for trouble," Long said.

Spitzer gave backers encouraging signals Tuesday but cautioned that
his support depends on the final bill that emerges. "It depends upon
access control, how you regulate it, how you ensure you're not just
dispensing a narcotic. There are obviously issues there that have to
be dealt with," he said.

Gottfried said he has been quietly working with Spitzer's office on
the matter for the past several weeks and already amended his bill to
resolve concerns raised by the governor's aides, such as pushing off
the effective date until January 2009.

How patients would get access to marijuana is a sticking point.
Leibell, the Senate backer, said he wants it done in a "controlled
setting," but Assembly Democrats said that could run afoul of the
federal court rulings. Leibell said he also would be open to
permitting its use for more conditions, such as glaucoma.

"It just doesn't seem that big a lift in this day and age to try to
help people," Leibell said of medical marijuana.