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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US NM: Senate Committee OKs Medical Marijuana Bill
ccguide Wednesday 30 Jan 2002 Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2002 Albuquerque Journal Contact: Website: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10 Author: S.U. Mahesh Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal) SENATE COMMITTEE OKS MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL SANTA FE - A state-appointed contractor would most likely cultivate and distribute marijuana for medical purposes under a proposal unanimously approved by the Senate Public Affairs Committee on Thursday. The contractor would be immune from any prosecution on state-related drug charges under the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act but may not be protected from federal drug laws. "This law has nothing to do with changing federal (drug) laws," Clifford Rees, assistant general counsel for the state Health Department, told reporters after Thursday's hearing. Rees also conceded to reporters that the state-selected contractor to grow and distribute marijuana could still be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws. Under the proposal, Rees said, the Health Department would select a secured location to have the contractor grow pot for certain qualified patients suffering from AIDS, cancer or other terminal illnesses. The department would monitor all aspects of the marijuana cultivation, including security, the number of plants to be grown and the amount of pot to be produced and distributed. "We would have absolute control over everything," Sen. Roman Maes, the Santa Fe Democrat who is sponsoring the measure, said during the hearing. If the bill is approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gary Johnson, New Mexico would become the first state in the country to be directly involved in the growth and distribution of medical marijuana, Rees said after the hearing. Nine other states, which allow medical use of marijuana, let the patients grow their own pot. Maes had initially proposed that patients grow their own pot, but that provision was removed after lawmakers expressed concerns about potential abuses. In a similar bill sponsored last year by Maes, the Health Department was authorized to grow and distribute marijuana to qualified patients. But Rees told lawmakers on the Public Affairs Committee on Thursday that the department would most likely hire an individual or an entity to grow and distribute marijuana if the measure became a law. According to the proposal, physicians would only recommend the use of medical marijuana for their patients, who would then have to undergo a screening process by the Department of Health in order to receive the drug, Maes said. Citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, opponents of the measure contended that the proposed bill would violate federal drug laws against the cultivation and distribution of marijuana. Last May, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal law classifying marijuana as illegal has no exception for ill patients. That ruling allowed the federal government to shut down the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative in California, which cultivated and distributed medical marijuana. The Supreme Court, however, didn't strike down any of the medical marijuana laws in eight states. Rees contended that the Supreme Court ruling doesn't address a state's direct involvement in growing and distributing marijuana. He said, however, "How the Supreme Court would rule if it came to the state growing (marijuana) is still open ... Ultimately, it would be decided in courts." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth
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