SPRINGFIELD – State Sen. and cancer survivor Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, plans to campaign for passage of a medical marijuana ballot question this fall.



Rosenberg said the ballot question has effectively eclipsed legislation he sponsored permitting marijuana use for patients diagnosed with cancer, glaucoma and other debilitating conditions.



With the ballot question pending, legislators would rather wait for voters to speak than take a stand on his bill, Rosenberg said during a meeting with The Republican's editorial board.



"Normally, I hang back on ballot questions, but I'll be (campaigning) for this," he said, expressing disappointment that therapeutic marijuana use is allowed in 16 states, including Maine and Rhode Island, but remains illegal here.



"I don't understand why when there is something that can be helpful, we would deny the help," the 62-year old lawmaker said.

"If we were the first state (to consider legalization), I'd understand; but we're the 17th state," he added.



Rosenberg's involvement in medical marijuana politics was not a reflection of his own cancer ordeal, he said. Two weeks ago, he returned to the Statehouse after four months of radiation, chemotherapy and surgery to treat a form of skin cancer.



He was able to manage pain and side effects with conventional techniques, Rosenberg said.



He expressed optimism that voters would support the ballot question, citing passage of a 2010 ballot question decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana.



The ballot question allows people to buy up to a 60-day supply of marijuana for their personal use from a nonprofit center that would grow the plants. The state Department of Public Health would regulate the provisions for medical marijuana.



Rosenberg said the ballot proposal is similar to his, but lacks some of the regulatory safeguards.



The question is one of four expected to be on the state ballot in November. The others involve a new system for evaluating teachers, allowing terminally ill patients access to drugs to end their lives, and the right of independent repair shops to obtain diagnostic information to repair vehicles.







