SUFFERERS PLEAD FOR MEDICAL POT

ALBANY o Bruce Dunn of Otsego County has lived in chronic pain since nearly
being crushed in a car accident more than 14 years ago.

The spinal cord injury he suffered left the nerves in his neck damaged
severely. The muscles in his upper back, meanwhile, have deteriorated to
the point where you can see bone through his shirt when he turns around.
And often, he hurts so bad that he finds it hard to sit more than 10
minutes at a time.

Since his 1988 crash, Dunn has tried an array of powerful prescribed
medications to relieve his pain. Some drugs simply didn't work. Others left
him sick.

Finally, he turned to marijuana.

"I'm not sure how it works, or why," Dunn said. "But for me, it's the best
medication I've come across."

Dunn came to the state Capitol on Wednesday to urge lawmakers to legalize
the medical use of marijuana. He was joined by AIDS patients, health
professionals and activists who testified before an Assembly Health
Committee panel on benefits marijuana can provide to those suffering from
cancer and other terminal illnesses.

"I don't like admitting that I commit a crime," said Dunn, whose hometown
would not be disclosed by the Assembly Committee on Wednesday. "I don't
like living as a criminal and I don't deserve to be a criminal."

Since 1997, there has been legislation in the Democrat-controlled Assembly
that would legalize the possession, sale, delivery and distribution of
marijuana for medical use to certified patients.

And technically, the state already has a medical marijuana law on the
books. Since 1980, in fact, New York has doled out some 6,000
government-supplied joints to patients.

The federal government, however, effectively shut the program down in 1989
when it approved Marinol, a synthetic pill form of THC, which is the active
ingredient in marijuana.

Ann Purchase, a registered nurse who testified before lawmakers Wednesday,
said the problem is some patients respond negatively to Marinol, as well as
other anti-nausea and pain-relief medications.

The elderly in particular, she said, don't do well with Marinol and often
suffer hallucinations because the drug is so concentrated.

Mark Hayes, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1997, said Marinol "kicks in
hard," often leaving patients in a near-sedated state for hours. Smoking
marijuana, he added, has been the only way he's been able to control side
effects such as vomiting and hives suffered as a result of the drug
"cocktail" he must take to combat his HIV.

Since its introduction more than five years ago, legislation to legalize
medical marijuana has gained support in the Assembly.

However, no bill has been introduced in the Republican-controlled state
Senate. A spokesman for the upper house Wednesday declined comment on the
issue.

Law enforcement officials, meanwhile, have been a primary opponent to
legalizing the medical use of marijuana, claiming such a law would
compromise their ability to fight illegal use of the drug.

But Vincent Marrone of New Yorkers for Compassionate Care said there has
been no evidence of that happening in the eight states throughout the
country that have medical marijuana laws on the books.