SCOZZAFAVA JOINS DEMOCRATS ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL

ALBANY- Assemblywoman Dierdre K. Scozzafava, R-Gouverneur, is the sole
Republican to sign onto a bill that would allow medical use of marijuana.

Ms. Scozzafava said her support for the bill, which has 27 Democratic
sponsors, stems from personal experience in which she "saw someone
suffer very much."

When a family member was suffering from a painful disease, a medical
professional said marijuana was one treatment that could have helped,
she said.

Ms. Scozzafava said she opposes legalization of marijuana, but
supports the bill sponsored by Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried,
D-Manhattan, because it would treat marijuana as a controlled substance.

"If a drug has medical qualities and can be used as a controlled
substance to assist with pain or for other medical reasons, it should
be available," she said.

In a 1999 report, the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of
Medicine concluded that marijuana can be effective in treating nausea,
appetite loss, pain and anxiety. Since 1986, THC, the active
ingredient in marijuana, has been approved by the federal Food and
Drug Administration for medical use in a synthetic pill form.

The natural form of the drug is still illegal for medical use, though
some medical experts believe smoking marijuana is more effective than
taking THC pills.

A new poll conducted by Zogby International shows two-thirds of New
York voters support allowing people with serious illnesses to grow and
use marijuana for medical reasons, provided it has been prescribed by
a doctor. The poll, commissioned by New Yorkers for Compassionate
Care, involved 834 likely voters from across the state. It has a
margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.

The gottfried bill would allow a doctor to certify that a patient has
a medical condition that should be treated with marijuana. The patient
would keep the original certificate, and one copy would be sent to the
state Department of Health and another would be keep in the patient's
medical file.

The patient would be allowed to grow his own marijuana or get it from
his doctor or a certified, not-for-profit supplier.

Patients would not be allowed to possess more than 8 ounces of
marijuana at one time.