SmokeDog420
New Member
After years of speaking to children about the dangers of drug use, talk-show host Montel Williams has reneged slightly to support the medical use of marijuana.
Williams, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, said at a press conference last Tuesday that he regularly uses marijuana to mitigate pain in his legs caused by the disease. He said that the pain felt like having a hot poker driven into his leg at all hours of the day.
"I'm breaking the law every day and I'm going to continue to break the law every day," he said. Williams has been prescribed Oxycontin, Percocet and Vicodin, among other drugs. Those, as well as illegally obtained morphine, did not alleviate his pain, he argued. But according to him, marijuana does.
Legislation that would make Williams' drug use legal is working its way to the Assembly floor, where Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, D,L,WF-Manhattan, is the lead sponsor. Gottfried said that marijuana could help relieve the pain of not only people with MS, but also those with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
The legislation, which has been in the Assembly in various forms since 1997, would allow a licensed practitioner to prescribe marijuana to patients with a life-threatening condition. The bill would also allow patients to possess and manufacture less than eight ounces of marijuana. The drug would be distributed by certified not-for-profits, which would buy it from a federal, state or local law enforcement agency.
The most recent proponent of medical marijuana is the Medical Society of the State of New York, a group that Gottfried thinks will help influence legislators, particularly in the state Senate, to support the bill. Liz Dears, of the MSSNY, said group representatives have met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D,L,WF-Manhattan, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R,C-Brunswick, and other Republican senators.
The bill has 45 sponsors in the Assembly. Ten of those are Republican.
Republican support will be necessary for the legislation to succeed. Gottfried said he hopes to have a Senate Republican sponsor of the bill soon.
Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Bruno, said the majority leader had met with Williams. "He felt that Mr. Williams made a very compelling case for the issue," Hansen said. He added that Bruno would take a "very serious" look at the legislation.
State Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R,C-Schenectady, a member of the Senate Health Committee, said the bill is worthwhile, but would require a closer look.
"There's some merit to it, but it's one that has been around for a lot of years," he said.
State Sen. John A. DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, also a member of the Senate Health Committee, would not support the bill, according to Deanna Ho, a spokeswoman for DeFrancisco. Also from the Senate Health Committee, Senator William J. Larkin Jr., R,C-New Windsor, said he may consider co-sponsoring the bill after taking a closer look at it.
Medical marijuana laws have already been enacted in nine states, including California and Washington State. Williams and Gottfried said that New York's law would be the most restrictive one in the nation.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws classifies New York as a state that has "decriminalized" marijuana use, meaning there is typically no jail time or criminal record for a first-time, in private, small quantity violation of possession laws.
Source: Legislative Gazette (NY)
Author: Zach Church, Gazette Staff Writer
Published: Monday, May 10, 2004
Copyright: 2004 Legislative Gazette
Website: https://www.legislativegazette.com/
Contact: https://www.legislativegazette.com/submit.php
Williams, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, said at a press conference last Tuesday that he regularly uses marijuana to mitigate pain in his legs caused by the disease. He said that the pain felt like having a hot poker driven into his leg at all hours of the day.
"I'm breaking the law every day and I'm going to continue to break the law every day," he said. Williams has been prescribed Oxycontin, Percocet and Vicodin, among other drugs. Those, as well as illegally obtained morphine, did not alleviate his pain, he argued. But according to him, marijuana does.
Legislation that would make Williams' drug use legal is working its way to the Assembly floor, where Assemblyman Richard N. Gottfried, D,L,WF-Manhattan, is the lead sponsor. Gottfried said that marijuana could help relieve the pain of not only people with MS, but also those with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
The legislation, which has been in the Assembly in various forms since 1997, would allow a licensed practitioner to prescribe marijuana to patients with a life-threatening condition. The bill would also allow patients to possess and manufacture less than eight ounces of marijuana. The drug would be distributed by certified not-for-profits, which would buy it from a federal, state or local law enforcement agency.
The most recent proponent of medical marijuana is the Medical Society of the State of New York, a group that Gottfried thinks will help influence legislators, particularly in the state Senate, to support the bill. Liz Dears, of the MSSNY, said group representatives have met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D,L,WF-Manhattan, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, R,C-Brunswick, and other Republican senators.
The bill has 45 sponsors in the Assembly. Ten of those are Republican.
Republican support will be necessary for the legislation to succeed. Gottfried said he hopes to have a Senate Republican sponsor of the bill soon.
Mark Hansen, a spokesman for Bruno, said the majority leader had met with Williams. "He felt that Mr. Williams made a very compelling case for the issue," Hansen said. He added that Bruno would take a "very serious" look at the legislation.
State Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R,C-Schenectady, a member of the Senate Health Committee, said the bill is worthwhile, but would require a closer look.
"There's some merit to it, but it's one that has been around for a lot of years," he said.
State Sen. John A. DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, also a member of the Senate Health Committee, would not support the bill, according to Deanna Ho, a spokeswoman for DeFrancisco. Also from the Senate Health Committee, Senator William J. Larkin Jr., R,C-New Windsor, said he may consider co-sponsoring the bill after taking a closer look at it.
Medical marijuana laws have already been enacted in nine states, including California and Washington State. Williams and Gottfried said that New York's law would be the most restrictive one in the nation.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws classifies New York as a state that has "decriminalized" marijuana use, meaning there is typically no jail time or criminal record for a first-time, in private, small quantity violation of possession laws.
Source: Legislative Gazette (NY)
Author: Zach Church, Gazette Staff Writer
Published: Monday, May 10, 2004
Copyright: 2004 Legislative Gazette
Website: https://www.legislativegazette.com/
Contact: https://www.legislativegazette.com/submit.php
