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Jake Dimmock, co-owner of the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, works with flowering plants in a grow room, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012, in Seattle.

(The Associated Press)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The state senator backing medical marijuana expansion in New York says she has 39 yes votes for the latest version of her bill - seven more than she needs to win passage in the state Senate for the first time.

That list of supporters is "growing every day," Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island, said earlier this week on "The Capitol Pressroom" with Susan Arbetter.

The news from the Senate should be promising for supporters of the drug policy. After all, the New York State Assembly has passed a version of allowing marijuana for medical use four times in recent years.

But now that the Senate is poised to approve the treatment, there's a new glitch.

Savino's newest bill has changes that her medical marijuana counterpart in the Assembly isn't keen on.

That means the latest version of the "Compassionate Care Act" could more easily pass the more conservative Senate than the Democratically-controlled Assembly.

Three key changes in Savino's newest bill:

The latest version limits which diseases and conditions could be treated with medical marijuana. "Physicians have too much latitude," in some other states, like California, Savino told Arbetter. Instead of leaving it up to doctors, the bill lists 20 specific diseases or conditions that a patient must suffer from before a doctor could recommend marijuana as a treatment.

The proposal, though, would create an advisory committee to recommend additions and subtractions to that list of 20 as medical advancements occur. That board could also hear appeals from individual patients denied access to medical marijuana by the state's health commissioner.

People under 21 would not be able to smoke marijuana as a treatment, though a doctor could prescribe the drug in other forms.

What does the Assembly's medical marijuana champion think of this?

Not much, it seems. Savino's latest version has no partner bill in the Assembly from her usual ally, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-Manhattan.

"I have concerns about some of the Senate amendments," Gottfried, the Assembly Health Committee chairman, said in lieu of an interview on the topic today. "Of course, getting a bill passed in the Senate will require some compromises. I urge the Senate leadership to work with the legislators and advocates who support the Compassionate Care Act to negotiate a strong, comprehensive, workable bill that will help reduce

suffering and save lives."

Gottfried hasn't pinpointed his exact concerns in recent interviews. When asked this week for more details, his staff declined to provide them.

The 20 diseases are in Savino's proposal are:

Cancer

Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Alzheimer's disease

Muscular dystrophy

Traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome

Dystonia

Psoriasis

Parkinson's disease

Multiple sclerosis

Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication

of intractable spasticity

Epilepsy

Cachexia

Wasting syndrome

Crohn's disease

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Neuropathy

Rheumatoid arthritis

Lupus

Diabetes

What's not on the list?

Savino, in her interview with Arbetter, pointed out some omissions: arthritis, fibromyalgia and glaucoma. The last was taken off the bill at the request of ophthalmologists, according to Savino. First, they say a person has to smoke or ingest a large quantity of pot to help to counter ill effects of glaucoma. Second, better prescriptions drugs exist for treatment, she said.

How would it work?

Under Savino's proposal, doctors would recommend patients suffering from at least one of the 20 specific conditions for marijuana use. The patient would apply for certification through the state's Department of Health. The health commissioner would approve or deny the certification.

Then, the patient (with his or her identification card) would buy up to 2.5 ounces for a 30-day supply of marijuana from a state-licensed dispensary. That dispensary would pay taxes back to the state.

What's next?



The New York Daily News confirmed this morning that the Senate's Health Committee will take up the bill at noon on Tuesday, a concrete step toward moving the legislation to a full floor vote.

Contact Teri Weaver at tweaver@syracuse.com, 315-470-2274 or on Twitter at @TeriKWeaver.