ARKANSAS MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL REJECTED

LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- A long-shot effort at legalizing marijuana for medical
use went up in smoke in a House committee Tuesday.

The panel heard from Dr. Jocelyn Elders, the former U.S. surgeon general,
who said people with serious illnesses should have the chance to use the
treatment that works best for them, including marijuana.

"If you can have someone smoke a joint and not worry about being busted by
the cops, it would be a real advantage," Elders said.

But members of the House Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee
expressed concerns about making the drug legal in certain circumstances and
questioned why a prescription drug that contains a key ingredient in
marijuana isn't enough.

The bill by Rep. Jim Lendall, D-Mabelvale, would make it legal for those
who register for a program, after consulting with a doctor, to grow and
keep small amounts of marijuana at their homes to treat their condition.

The bill would restrict legalized marijuana to help relieve the pain of
cancer, AIDS and other "debilitating medical conditions."

Several residents told the committee about their health problems, ranging
from cancer to complications of car wrecks, and spoke of the benefits that
they say marijuana provides that prescription drugs do not.

Kendle Greenlee of Elkins said his knees were crushed in a work-related
accident and that marijuana lessens the pain and is much cheaper than the
prescription drugs he has used -- which at one point, he said, cost more
than $1,000 per month.

He said removing the stigma and fear of using marijuana would help.

"We would not have to associate with criminals," he said. "We could
associate with a pharmacist."

But critics said legalizing marijuana, even for limited use, would open the
door for people to get addicted to harder drugs and tell the state's youth
that drug use is acceptable.

"This bill would open the door to major problems with dangerous and toxic
drugs," said Ken Fithen, associate director of the Arkansas Faith and
Ethics Council. "It's the gateway drug. We're sending a very wrong message
to our young people."

The committee also noted that changing the law still would not shield
people from possible federal prosecution and worried about the burden the
program would place on the state Health Department.

The bill failed on a voice vote. Lendall made a similar effort two years
ago but the bill died in committee.