SECOND TIME AROUND, HOUSE OKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA

State Would Join 11 Others Allowing Patients To Use Drug

Albuquerque AIDS patient Essie DeBonet hugged another
medical-marijuana supporter after the House narrowly approved a bill
Tuesday to legalize the use of the drug for medical purposes.

DeBonet said passage would mean she would no longer have to obtain
marijuana illegally. She credited marijuana with helping her cope
with excruciating nausea and with gaining back 11 pounds she had
shed. "It's why I'm alive today," DeBonet said.

DeBonet, who said her weight is back up to 91 pounds, said she has
lobbied lawmakers for three years to approve the measure.

The House, which last week rejected a similar medical-marijuana bill,
approved Senate Bill 523 on a 36-31 vote after nearly two hours of
debate Tuesday. The bill returns to the Senate for consideration of a
minor House change.

Gov. Bill Richardson, who has said he has been busy lobbying House
members to vote for the bill, heralded House passage of the measure.

"This bill will provide much-needed relief for New Mexicans suffering
from debilitating diseases while including the proper safeguards to
prevent abuse," Richardson said in a written statement. "I am pleased
that the Legislature did the right thing, reconsidered this important
bill and supported a humane option for New Mexicans who endure some
of the most painful diseases imaginable."

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon,
Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have legalized marijuana for
medical uses, according to a fiscal-impact report on the bill.

New Mexico's bill would allow patients to use marijuana to alleviate
the symptoms of several debilitating medical conditions, including
cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, certain spinal-cord injuries,
epilepsy, HIV, AIDS, hospice care and other uses approved by the
state Department of Health.

Under the bill, the department would be required to create a system
for distributing medical marijuana to patients by Oct. 1. The agency
would issue identification cards to eligible patients and caregivers.

The department also would license producers to grow the marijuana. On
a 35-25 vote, the House altered the bill to state that medical
marijuana could not be distributed within 300 feet of any church,
school or day-care center.

Some opponents of the measure questioned the medicinal value of
marijuana, saying the drug weakens patients' immune systems. "To move
in this direction just makes no sense at all," said Rep. John Heaton,
a Carlsbad Democrat and a pharmacist.

Rep. James "R.J." Strickler, R-Farmington, said the bill would send
the wrong message to children about drug use. "You can't make a bill
ironclad enough when it comes to our children," Strickler said.

Another opponent of the bill, Rep. Manuel Herrera, D-Bayard, became
emotional as he described his struggle against cancer. "I've survived
this cancer five times, and I intend to fight it with whatever's
available except marijuana," he said.

But Rep. Antonio "Moe" Maestas, an Albuquerque Democrat who carried
the bill during House debate, said marijuana has been proven to be
effective in stimulating appetite, alleviating pain and lessening nausea.

"If their doctors think that they should try this, we should give
them the legal access to do so," he said.

Reena Szczepanski, director of the Drug Policy Alliance Net-work,
showed emotion after the House approved the bill. "I'm shaking," she
said. "I've had such belief in the humanity of people and the
humanity of this Legislature."