In his veto message, Lynch said while "I have been open, and remain open, to allowing tightly controlled usage of marijuana for appropriate medical purposes," the "defects" in the bill that passed with bipartisan support in the Legislature prevented his support.

Lynch's reasoning did not convince a cancer survivor who ate marijuana cookies to help her deal with the painful side effects of chemotherapy more than a decade ago.

"I am angry and I think it's just crazy that we couldn't get this bill passed," said Nancy Grossman of Portsmouth. "This bill couldn't be tighter. I don't understand (Lynch's) position."

Grossman and other cancer survivors had met with aides of Lynch recently to lobby for the bill, and she plans "on a busy summer" to convince lawmakers to override Lynch's veto.

Rep. Trinka Russell, D-Stratham, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said she was disappointed but not surprised by Lynch's veto because of his previous concerns. But the veto has made Russell more determined to get the bill right.

"I think it really bothers me when there are so many in pain who would be helped by this," Russell said. "We will try again, because it's important to me and it's a worthy cause. Sometimes the time isn't right, and you need to be patient to get the right bill."

The medical marijuana bill — which passed the Senate by a 14-10 vote and 232-108 in the House — allowed for small distributions of the drug through so-called "compassion centers" to serve some 150 terminally ill and acute care patients per year. New Hampshire would have been the 14th state in the country to allow some form of medical marijuana distribution.

Lynch focused his veto message on potential abuses of distribution and use.

"Law enforcement officials have raised legitimate public safety concerns regarding the cultivation and distribution of marijuana," Lynch said. "These concerns have not been adequately addressed in this bill. Marijuana is an addictive drug that has the potential to pose significant health dangers to its users, and it remains the most widely abused illegal drug in this state."

Supporters said plenty of safeguards had been built in to limit distribution. But opponents, such as Portsmouth Police Chief Michael Magnant, had encouraged Lynch to veto the bill.

"Calling it medicine doesn't make it so," Magnant told the Herald. "It's not FDA-approved, and there's no quality control. It leads to higher drug use, and it impairs driving. I think it sends the wrong message to our kids."

But Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth, said the Legislature "leaned over backwards to create the most focused law in the country" — and that Lynch's concerns and those of law enforcement were "ill-founded" and had been addressed.

"We should have policy in place that cares for our most vulnerable, and that's what the legislation did," she said. "The reality is that if a person wants to get marijuana, they can get it. I don't believe we are going to see people taking advantage of people who are truly ill. Sometimes, controversial legislation doesn't succeed the first time. It takes a while to educate the public, policy makers and leaders why it's the correct and appropriate thing to do."

Source: Portsmouth Herald (NH)

Author: Michael Mccord

Published: July 11, 2009

Copyright: 2009 Seacoast Newspapers

Contact: news@seacoastonline.com

Website: http://www.seacoastonline.com/

URL: http://drugsense.org/url/7GvYta2R

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