STATE SENATOR FROM KC BACK AT WORK AFTER DIAGNOSIS OF LUNG CANCER

JEFFERSON CITY - There's a new rule in Sen. Ronnie DePasco's third-floor
Capitol office. No smoking, please.

Just months ago, the office in Room 321 -- often referred to as Club 321 by
lawmakers because of the hospitality available there -- was blue with the
thick haze of cigarette smoke and the occasional cigar.

But after DePasco, a Kansas City Democrat, was diagnosed with lung cancer
during the legislative session, his office became tobacco-free.

Besides the lack of a cigarette in his hand, the most visible change in the
59-year-old senator is the chemotherapy-induced disappearance of his thick,
salt-and-pepper hair.

Then, of course, there is the earring, a gold loop.

"I just thought that since I lost my hair and everything, I'm going to make
a statement," DePasco said. "I thought, well, I'll get an earring.

"These rednecks around here," he chuckled, "they went nuts."

This, fellow legislators say, is the Ronnie DePasco they have always known.
Someone who can maintain grace and humor under the most difficult
circumstances.

"That's Ronnie, trying to make light of the situation," said Sen. Bill
Kenney, a Lee's Summit Republican. "He's had a fantastic attitude."

DePasco's first appearance on the Senate floor since becoming ill prompted
a standing ovation last week from fellow senators as he received the Wise
Old Owl award, historically a gag gift circulated among senators but one
that seemed poignant when DePasco accepted it.

"His spirits are great," Sen. Harry Wiggins, a Kansas City Democrat, said
during the legislature's annual veto session. "We're not only hopeful but
confident he'll be here next session."

DePasco has been undergoing chemotherapy in Houston for the last few
months. Every 21 days he has made the trek to Texas for the six-hour
treatments.

He said the chemotherapy had stopped the spread of cancerous cells in his
lungs but had not regressed the disease. His doctors say that the cells are
developing immunity to the chemotherapy and that it is time to switch to
another treatment.

DePasco is optimistic he will find some treatment that will fight his
cancer. In the meantime, he is working on legislation that he says would
help people with cancer -- a bill to legalize marijuana use for medicinal
purposes.

DePasco said he was introduced to the idea by fellow chemotherapy patients
who told him that marijuana alleviated nausea and appetite loss caused by
chemotherapy. Then he heard a radio program with a doctor detailing
evidence of the substance's power in helping cancer patients.

"I thought to myself, `Why not?"' DePasco said, adding that he planned to
introduce a bill that would put the issue before state residents for a vote.

When a reporter asked the obvious question -- did DePasco ever use
marijuana during his treatments -- DePasco said the answer was no.

"I was fortunate, because I wasn't sick, and I never really lost my
appetite. I never needed it (marijuana)," he said. "Now if I was nauseous
and sick and lost my appetite, I would have tried it."

There is a federal ban on medicinal marijuana, so it is unclear what effect
a state law -- if it were to pass -- would have. Still, DePasco said, the
point is to try to help people, even if that means just talking about the
issue.

As assistant minority leader, DePasco is one of the top-ranking Democrats
in the Senate. He was first elected to the Senate in 1992 and before that
had served in the House since 1976.

He has two years left in his Senate term.

DePasco said he tired quickly but still had enough energy to fulfill his
legislative duties.

"As long as I sit, I'm fine. It's going up and down stairs that gets to
me," he said, adding, "I can still stand up and debate."