LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE BILL TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

MADISON -- Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Ed Thompson endorsed a bill
Tuesday that would allow Wisconsin residents suffering from cancer, AIDS,
glaucoma and other diseases to legally smoke marijuana to help manage their
pain and increase their appetites.

"It's high time that the Wisconsin Legislature gets off its high horse and
recognizes how important this is," said Thompson, who is mayor of Tomah and
brother of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.

"Nobody's ever died from the use of marijuana," he said. "It's not harmful
but helpful."

Reps. Frank Boyle, D-Superior, and Mark Pocan, D-Madison, on Tuesday
introduced the bill, which would allow people to grow or buy marijuana if
their doctor gave them a statement consenting to its use for medical purposes.

It's an issue state lawmakers have brought up for nearly eight years, Boyle
said.

The bill would allow nonprofit corporations to produce and distribute
medical marijuana if they were licensed and regulated by the state
Department of Health and Family Services.

Gary Storck, of the group "Is My Medicine Legal Yet," said he has been
using medical marijuana for 30 years to treat his glaucoma and arthritis,
despite the risk of arrest and conviction under state and federal laws.

"This is the only thing that allows me to function normally," he said.
"People are very caught up in the image of the dope-smoking hippie, but it
goes beyond that. It does have medical benefits."

The bill faces substantial opposition in the state Assembly and among the
medical community.

"This topic has been a perennial loser here in the Assembly that has done a
lot to define Madison liberals but not much to impact the debate," said
Steve Baas, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha.

Dr. Michael Miller, former president of the Dane County Medical Society,
said there have been clinical trials of orally administered and prescribed
THC, which is the active ingredient in marijuana, but not of smoked marijuana.

"There's not clear evidence that it works for any medical condition," he said.

The State Medical Society supports lifting legal barriers to clinical
trials, but not to legalizing marijuana's medical use, because there are
too many potential risks, including increased addiction, Miller said.

Voters in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington
also have approved ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical
marijuana. A Hawaii law, which provided the framework for the Wisconsin
bill, was passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor last year.