HOUSE OKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA USE

HARTFORD -- After a wide-ranging, six-hour debate and several failed
efforts to kill or weaken the controversial legislation, the House
voted Wednesday to approve the use of marijuana by the seriously ill.

Nine out of 10 amendments from minority Republicans critical of the
legislation failed in sharply partisan roll call and voice votes.

Lawmakers dug deeply into a very public debate on the current
underground availability of marijuana in Connecticut and its
relative analgesic qualities.

When the final vote arrived and the legislation passed 89-58,
support came from a variety of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle
who agreed the General Assembly should do whatever it can to lessen suffering.

Proponents said the bill would only affect a couple of hundred
people statewide who suffer from a variety of chronic ailments,
including cancer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
Opponents charged that it could encourage public perception that the
illegal substance is somehow acceptable. The bill would allow the
seriously ill to obtain a doctor's authorization, pay a fee and
possess up to four 4-foot-tall marijuana plants and an ounce of
dried marijuana. Gov. M. Jodi Rell, speaking to Capitol reporters
toward the end of the afternoon-long debate, said she would have
to review the bill before making a final decision on the legislation.

"I really have not taken a position on this bill, and I have to say
I have the same mixed feelings I had before," Rell said.

The bill still has to go to the Senate, but third-term Rep. Penny
Bacchiochi, R-Somers, who was scared of arrest 24 years ago while
trying to buy marijuana for her dying husband, is optimistic that
after eight years of trying the bill will pass.

"If it gets called in the Senate, I believe it will pass in the
Senate," Bacchiochi said in an interview outside the House chamber
after the vote. In past years, the bill has passed in the House or
Senate, only to fail in the waning days of the Legislature.

Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, co-chairman of the Judiciary
Committee who introduced the bill for debate, said that there are
currently no records of police arresting the many state residents
who already smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms from
ailments including MS, Parkinson's, neuro-muscular deficiencies and
glaucoma, or to stimulate appetites dulled by cancer treatments.

"It is in effect already being decriminalized by discretionary
decisions made by law enforcement in this state," Lawlor said.
"Maybe it's incumbent on us to say the common sense of law
enforcement should be the policy in this state." Rep. Thomas J.
Drew, D-Fairfield, said the bill would balance the requirements of
federal laws against marijuana that date back 70 years, with the
need for relief by a tiny portion of the Connecticut population.

"What it's about is the medicinal value of the marijuana for those
with extremely serious illnesses," Drew said. "I'm not persuaded
that this law is going to be abused and I am persuaded that it may
result in less criminal involvement."

Eligible medical conditions would include HIV-positivity, AIDS,
epilepsy and cachexia, or wasting disease. Rep. Themis Klarides,
R-Derby, said two weeks ago she visited a high school in her
district where many kids told her matter-of-factly that marijuana
is readily available and that existing drug laws aren't preventing
many people from purchasing marijuana.

"I really believe that this bill is not going to make it worse,"
Klarides said. "The message is simple: We have compassion for people
suffering in this state." If the bill is signed into law, beginning
in July, a qualifying patient, or a designated caregiver, would be
allowed to possess marijuana. If they were to be arrested while
procuring the substance, they could mount a so-called affirmative
defense in court in attempt to get the charges dropped.

Police would be allowed to obtain the list of patients from the
state Department of Consumer Protection.

The lone Republican amendment that succeeded, in a 133-14 vote,
would prohibit anyone who had been convicted of possession or
dealing drugs from serving as a primary caregiver for a patient. It
was offered by Rep. Kevin Witcos, R-Canton, who is a police
officer. But most of the afternoon was taken up by seven amendments
from Rep. Antonietta Boucher, R-Wilton, who was vehemently opposed
to the legislation. Boucher took the floor at 2:08 p.m. and offered
amendments until 4:48. They included review of the law by
federal authorities; a state study of the number of
potential qualifying patients; a study on the potential
psychotic effects of the drug, and restricting the use of marijuana
to only terminal patients, which was rejected in a 111-36 vote. Rep.
Lawrence G. Miller, R-Stratford, who voted against the legislation,
charged that there's little medical evidence linking marijuana as a
reliable pain reliever for many of the medical conditions listed in
the leg! islation.

Bacchiochi said after the final vote that she was prepared to
dispute all the opposition claims, but chose mostly to stay seated
and let the debate take its course.

"I felt it was in my best interest to be quiet," she said. "A lot of
lawmakers had their minds made up already."

Southwestern Connecticut lawmakers who voted for the bill included
Rep. Andres Ayala Jr.; Rep. Christopher L. Caruso; Rep. Charles D.
Clemons; Rep. Robert T. Keeley Jr., and Rep. John Hennessy Jr., all
D-Bridgeport; Rep. Linda Gentile, D-Ansonia; Rep. Leonard C. Greene,
R-Beacon Falls; Rep. Richard O. Belden, R-Shelton; Rep. DebraLee
Hovey, R-Monroe; Rep. Tom Christiano, D-Fairfield, and Rep. T.R.
Rowe, R-Trumbull.

Lawmakers who voted against the measure included Speaker of the
House James A. Amann and Rep. Richard Roy, both D-Milford; Rep. Paul
Davis, D-Orange; Rep. Terry Backer, D-Stratford; Rep. John Harkins,
R-Stratford; Rep. Kim Fawcett, D-Fairfield, and Rep. Felipe Reinoso,
D-Bridgeport.