Democrats support medical marijuana

MADISON (AP) - Legalizing medical marijuana will ease the cancer patients' pain and help others who are suffering, supporters of legalization argued Monday.

Two Democratic state lawmakers, advocates and those fighting chronic diseases said at a news conference there is momentum nationwide to decriminalize the use of marijuana for medical reasons.

They pointed to Gov. Jim Doyle's comments last month in support of legalizing medical marijuana for people who have a doctor's prescription. Also, the American Medical Association called last week for a federal review of marijuana's status as a controlled substance to make it easier to do research that could lead to development of marijuana-based medicines.

Everyone knows someone who would benefit if the law were changed, said Jacki Rickert, founder of "Is My Medicine Legal Yet?" She suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and reflexive sympathetic dystrophy, bone and joint diseases that limit movement and lead to painful muscle spasms. Marijuana eases the pain, she said.

Rickert, 58, has lobbied more than a decade to legalize medical marijuana in Wisconsin. She was arrested in 2000 when Mondovi police raided her home and confiscated marijuana. The district attorney later declined to press charges.

"We're not criminals, we're just people trying to get on with our lives," said Gary Storck, who said he starting using marijuana in 1972 to treat his glaucoma and arthritis.

A similar bill was introduced in the Legislature in 2002 but did not pass.

Under the measure co-sponsored by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, a person would need a prescription from a doctor to receive marijuana, which could either be grown at home or obtained through a licensed nonprofit dispensary. The state would keep a registry of both those who can receive and dispense marijuana.

The Department of Health Services could not estimate how many people would qualify for marijuana prescriptions, according to the fiscal estimate for the bill. Seventeen of 132 lawmakers have signed on in support.

"This law needs to be changed," Rickert said. "We can't wait any longer."

Thirteen states have legalized medical marijuana, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The Wisconsin bill is up for a hearing Dec. 15, and Erpenbach said the goal was to have it voted on sometime in January.

The governor said last month that he had no problem with the use of marijuana to treat severe pain and other medical conditions, if it's prescribed by a doctor. Restricting the use of medical marijuana makes no sense when doctors can already prescribe more dangerous drugs, such as morphine, he said.

Doyle's comments come after a decision by the Obama administration not to prosecute users and suppliers of medical marijuana in the states where it's been legalized. The decision is a clear break from the policies of the Bush administration and another sign pointed to by backers of Wisconsin's bill that the attitude toward medical marijuana is changing.