SUPPORTERS MAKE PITCH FOR MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA

HARTFORD -- Ned Pocengal doesn't want to break the law, but he can be
arrested every time he inhales a small pipeful of marijuana to alleviate
the effects of the three diseases that threaten his life.

The 40-year-old New Haven librarian doesn't see why he can't smoke it.

But the 1983 state law that supposedly allows marijuana to be prescribed
for cancer and glaucoma patients has never been used because doctors fear
the federal Drug Enforcement Agency will arrest them.

Pocengal and some lawmakers think the law should be rewritten, expanding it
to encompass other diseases and creating a certificate program so patients
seeking medical marijuana cannot be thrown in prison for substance possession.

They say it's wrong to presume it would be a big step toward legalization
of marijuana.

"There's no evidence that allowing people certain medicine is going to lead
to widespread abuse," said Pocengal, who has been HIV positive since 1987
and also suffers from chronic hepatitis B.

Inhaling marijuana once or twice helps his appetite, which is also affected
by the symptoms of Crohn's disease, chronic inflammation of the intestinal
tract.

During a public hearing Monday on the use of medical marijuana, Pocengal
told the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee that smoking the substance
calms the bouts of nausea and cramps he endures. He hopes to be able to
grow it at home one day.

"Marijuana stimulates my appetite and allows me to eat," said Pocengal, who
lived for most of the last 10 years in San Francisco, where he was a member
of a cannabis club that provided marijuana at minimal cost.

"This law in particular addresses the added stress that people who want to
rely on this medicine have in interacting with criminals and fearing
arrest, criminal record and imprisonment for finding the best treatment for
their condition," Pocengal told the committee.

Rep. James W. Abrams, D-Meriden, the chief proponent of the legislation,
said the proposal has nothing to do with an eventual attempt to legalize
marijuana.

"We've had 19 years in which doctors were afraid to prescribe it because
they were worried that the DEA would kick down their doors," Abrams said in
an interview.

There was little other testimony on the bill. State supporters of the
legislation include A Better Way Foundation, which said a recent poll of
1,000 state residents indicated that more than 73 percent of respondents
agreed that people with serious illnesses should be allowed to grow and
smoke marijuana.

Ironically, medicinal forms of the marijuana's active ingredients can be
too strong, said Pocengal, who works as an administrative assistant.
"Smoking is much easier to dose yourself," he said. "You're not going to
get blitzed."