 [65] TALK.POLITICS.DRUGS (1:375/48)  TALK.POLITICS.DRUGS 
 Msg  : #3468 [200]                                                             
 From : NORML California                    1:2613/335      Wed 24 Aug 94 20:15 
 To   : All                                                                     
 Subj : Cal.Assembly Passes Medical MJ Bill                                     

From: NORML California <canorml@igc.apc.org>

      SACRAMENTO, August 18:  The California Assembly voted 44-
17 to pass a medical marijuana bill, SB 1364,  which would
recognize cannabis as a prescription drug in California.  The bill,
which attracted bipartisan support, now goes to Gov. Pete Wilson,
who has yet to announce his position.
      Medical marijuana leader Dennis Peron called the vote "a strong
message to Washington and the Clinton administration," which
surprised observers last month by announcing that it would not lift
the Bush administration's ban on medical marijuana.  NORML attacked
the administration for cravenly shutting the door on thousands of
American medical marijuana patients, many of who have been
arrested, persecuted, or harassed on pot charges.  Among cases this
week in California:
      % In Fresno, Jimmy Orozco, who suffers debilitating pain from a
foot injury, was sentenced to 3 years' probation with drug testing
for cultivating a handful of plants after the judge denied him a
medical marijuana necessity defense;  NORML is joining in his
appeal.
      % In Mt. Shasta, paraplegic Bruce Stettner is fighting court
charges and an eviction hearing stemming from his arrest for
misdemeanor possession of two joints.
      % In Fairfax, AIDS patient Barbara Sweeney is seeking damages
from local police for wrongfully raiding her apartmentJlast month,
destroying her medicinal pot garden for the second time in a year.
       In a letter to Congress, California  NORML criticized the federal
government for ignoring scientific evidence of marijuana's efficacy
and complained that the DEA and other agencies were deliberately
obstructing private medical marijuana research. It noted that
marijuana is uniquely more economical than competing
pharmaceuticals such as Marinol, a synthetic marijuana substitute
touted by the government.  As a substitute for the marijuana she
was growing for free, Barbara Sweeney obtained a Marinol
prescription, which cost $600 per week to the state Medical
program.  "With the soaring cost of health care a national issue, it is
outrageous that the government is forcing patients to resort to
overpriced drugs like Marinol," commented NORML coordinator Dale
Gieringer.
      "Governor Wilson should note that Californians have repeatedly
expressed themselves in favor of medical marijuana in public
referenda, local ordinances, and the state legislature.  President
Clinton should note that medical marijuana is more popular than his
own health program."
      Regardless of public sentiment, it is uncertain whether Gov.
Wilson will go along with AB 1364.  Instead, he has been pushing the
legislature to pass a "Smoke a Joint, Lose Your License" bill,  AB79x,
which would require a six-month driver's license suspension for all
drug offenses, including non-driving-related possession of pot in
one's home, purse or pocket.  The result could well mean tougher, not
easier, times ahead for California's marijuana patients.


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