Lynch said in a statement he "remains open" to tightly controlled medical marijuana, but he said the bill passed by the Legislature two weeks ago lacks adequate safeguards on the drug's cultivation and distribution. He said he fears the amount of marijuana allowed under the bill could prove addictive or damaging.

Lawmakers had tightened the bill after Lynch voiced concern about an earlier version that would have allowed patients to grow marijuana at home. The final version would allow marijuana only in three nonprofit "compassion centers" throughout the state, where workers who had passed background checks would disperse limited amounts of the drug to registered patients.

But Lynch said he was not convinced the centers would keep marijuana in the right hands, arguing the bill did not require sufficient oversight of volunteers working at the centers.

"We cannot set a lower bar for medical marijuana than we do for other controlled substances, and we cannot implement a law that has serious flaws," he said in his statement.

Advocates said they were disappointed in the veto of a bill they said would have regulated the drug more tightly than in any of the 13 states where medical marijuana is allowed. Rep. Evalyn Merrick, a cancer survivor who sponsored the bill, rejected Lynch's arguments as politically motivated.

Merrick, a Democrat from Lancaster, said the governor denied a bill that would have given relief to the state's most vulnerable citizens. She said limiting marijuana cultivation to the compassion centers would ensure its quality and security, and she said the system of fees established in the bill contradicts Lynch's concern that only the wealthiest residents could afford marijuana.

"This is clearly a politically directed decision, based on misinformation and lies," she said in a statement. "It appears the governor may not have thoroughly read the bill in its entirety."

Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, who helped usher the bill through the Legislature, said lawmakers believed they had addressed the governor's concerns. She questioned his reference to marijuana as an addictive drug.

"There's a difference maybe between habit-forming and addictive," said Rosenwald, a Democrat from Nashua. "If you want to talk about addictive, talk about opiates and narcotics. Prescription drugs are addictive, marijuana isn't."

She also questioned the governor's reference to the illegality of marijuana under federal law, given that U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that federal raids would target only marijuana users who broke state law.

Supporters at NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy were angered but not surprised by the veto, said Matt Simon, executive director of that group. He said Lynch had given little sign of supporting the legislation and did not meet personally with seriously ill patients lobbying for medical marijuana.

"It's just clear he hasn't adequately studied this issue," Simon said. "The wording of his statement: I have tremendous compassion for these patients I've refused to meet with?"

Lynch spokesman Colin Manning said people representing the governor's office have met with many supporters of the bill.

Supporters have one last shot at passing the bill if they rally two-thirds of the lawmakers of each house to override the governor's veto. That will likely be a thornier matter in the Senate, where last month's vote was 14-10. The House passed it 232-108.

Rosenwald said she would not speculate about the chances of overriding the veto in the Senate, but Simon said he knew of a few senators who were on the fence when they decided to vote against the bill. He wouldn't name names.

The House has not yet scheduled a session to address the vetoed bill.



Source: Concord Monitor (NH)

Author: Karen Langley, Monitor Staff

Published: July 11, 2009

Copyright: 2009 Monitor Publishing Company

Contact: letters@cmonitor.com

Website: http://www.concordmonitor.com

URL: http://drugsense.org/url/9lFrjN4O

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