LAWMAKER PUSHES MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL FOR 3RD TIME

HARTFORD, Conn. - A state lawmaker on Thursday announced for the
third time in as many years a plan to legalize marijuana for medical
purposes.

Legislation introduced by Rep. James W. Abrams, D-Meriden, would allow
doctors to give patients certificates authorizing the use of marijuana
to relieve pain and other symptoms.

Connecticut passed one of the nation's first medical marijuana laws in
1981, allowing doctors to prescribe the drug. Doctors, fearing
prosecution, have refused to prescribe the drug because federal law
banning the drug overrides state law.

The legislation sponsored by Abrams and three other state
representatives would shift the responsibility from doctors to
patients, Abrams said at a Capitol news conference. A certificate
would give patients a defense against state prosecution, but not
federal action.

A patient or caregiver also would be allowed to grow marijuana for
medical use.

"We're not talking about collectives," Abrams said.

One problem still to be worked out is how patients would obtain
marijuana seeds, which may not legally be sold despite their
availability on Internet sites.

"That's something we'd have to deal with," Abrams said.

Gov. John G. Rowland does not support the legislation.

"He believes the pharmaceutical industry provides legal alternatives,"
spokesman Chris Cooper said.

Speakers at the news conference said marijuana is more effective than
prescribed drugs in relieving pain and has fewer side effects.

Mark Braunstein, who injured his spinal cord in a diving accident in
1990, said he relies on marijuana to ease occasional spasms.

Braunstein, an art librarian at Connecticut College, said the side
effects are euphoria, "which I can handle," and paranoia at the
prospect of prosecution.

Lobbyists for doctors in Connecticut also may not back the
legislation. Jim Battaglio, a spokesman for the Connecticut State
Medical Society, said the state group follows the American Medical
Association on the issue.

The AMA has called for more studies of marijuana for patients and
recommends that authorities continue to classify marijuana as a
controlled substance pending the outcome of studies.

The national doctors' group also called on the National Institutes of
Health to research the medical utility of marijuana and develop a
smoke-free, inhaled delivery system.

Kevin Zeese, a lawyer and authority on medical marijuana, appeared at
the news conference to speak on behalf of Abrams's bill.

"Marijuana will be used as medicine regardless of what the federal
government does," he said. Abrams's bill is "going under the radar of
what the feds see."

Federal law enforcement officials said Thursday they cannot recall
prosecution for marijuana used for medical purposes in
Connecticut.

Abrams said an effort to get around the federal ban was first
introduced two years ago, but got nowhere. Last year, it won a public
hearing.

The measure will be considered by the General Assembly's judiciary and
public health committees.