HOUSE REVERSES ON MEDICAL MARIJANA VOTE

SANTA FE -- In a reversal of a decision last week, the House approved
a measure Tuesday to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes.

The House, on a 35-25 vote, passed a Senate bill that will allow
patients to seek approval from the state to use marijuana to treat
certain diseases. Thursday, the House on a 33-36 vote objected to a
similar proposal.

Gov. Bill Richardson had said earlier in the day Tuesday he was
working on House members to get them to reconsider their vote.

Legislators repeated several arguments that were made last week.

Supporters of the measure maintained that medical marijuana use will
help ease pain among sufferers of certain diseases, while opponents
contended an approval will give children the impression lawmakers
support illegal drug use.

Rep. John Heaton, D-Carlsbad, a pharmacist, said medical benefits of
marijuana are limited, and the drug could worsen some medical problems.

"That it has all this wonderful relief is not true," he said. "It's a
weak anti-nauseant; there are much better products on the market.
It's a very weak pain killer."

But bill proponent Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, D-Albuquerque, said
there's evidence from studies that marijuana can aid ill patients.

"If it does have detrimental side effects, it may have far exceeding
benefits," he said.

Rep. Bill Rehm, R-Albuquerque, said by approving the bill the
Legislature sends the message it's giving tacit approval to
narcotics, when the state has a drug abuse problem.

"I think that's the wrong message," he said.

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Gail Chasey, D-Albuquerque, said the
Legislature's approval won't prompt drug use among children.

"I'm not worried about the message we're sending our children,
because we have a lot of dangerous pharmaceuticals that are
prescribed by physicians," she said. "Because those are legal, we're
not telling our children it's OK to use them."

Conditions that would be treatable with marijuana under the bill
include cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injuries,
epilepsy and AIDs. Patients would have had to seek approval from the
state and carry a registration card in order to use medical marijuana.

Rep. Manuel Herrera, D-Bayard, said he'd never consider marijuana as
a treatment, despite having survived five bouts with cancer.

"I've never had to take marijuana for pain," he said. "I have
grandkids ' and I'm not going to fill up my office or my home with
marijuana smoke."

Rep. Teresa Zanetti, R-Albuquerque, said she opposed the measure
because there isn't strong evidence that marijuana is a useful medication.

"We've heard some very compelling stories, but we shouldn't make
policy based on emotion," she said.

Maestas said that wasn't his motivation for supporting the legislation.

"I didn't do it because of emotionalism but because it seemed
reasonable to me," he said.

Rep. Larry Larranaga, R-Albuquerque, a bill opponent, attached an
amendment to the measure that would keep marijuana for medical
purposes from being distributed near schools. Other attempts to
change the bill such as attaching a condition that it wouldn't become
effective until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves
marijuana as a drug were rejected by the House.

The state Health Department is tasked with setting up rules for
medical marijuana use, according to the bill.

The measure is Senate Finance Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 523.

Because the bill was amended by the House, it must return to the
Senate for approval. After that, Richardson must sign it for it to become law.

Thursday's Votes

Nathan Cote, yes; Gloria Vaughn, no; Dub Williams, yes; Nora
Espinoza, no; Daniel Foley, yes; William Gray, no.

Tuesday's Votes

Nathan Cote, yes; Gloria Vaughn, no; Dub Williams, yes; Nora
Espinoza, no; Daniel Foley, yes; William Gray, yes.