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Montel Williams makes emotional plea for medical marijuana bill
03.23.07|Associated Press|By Susan Haigh

Syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams choked back tears Friday as he urged Connecticut lawmakers to pass a bill legalizing marijuana use for medical purposes.

Williams, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, said he uses marijuana in various forms to help alleviate intense pain and debilitating symptoms.

"I have to pray that the local law enforcement gives me a right of passage back to my state. Because when I walk out of here, I will smoke pot," said the New York resident.

"I have to stay ahead of the pain," he said.

Lawmakers are again considering a bill that legalizes marijuana use for people suffering from certain debilitating medical conditions diagnosed by a doctor. This year's version would allow residents at least 18 years old to cultivate up to four plants in a secure, indoor facility.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, 11 states allow patients to use marijuana despite federal laws against it. A 12th state, Maryland, protects patients from jail but not arrest.

Connecticut already has a medical marijuana law, one of the first in the nation. Under the 1981 law, a doctor can prescribe the illegal drug to relieve nausea associated with chemotherapy and eye pressure from glaucoma.

But the law is unworkable because, under federal law, a physician who prescribes marijuana can be sent to prison and risks having his or her medical license revoked.

Proponents said they're hopeful the bill will pass this year. It has already cleared one legislative committee.

"I feel legislators are finally at the place where they want to act compassionately with this law," said Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, who said she risked arrest more than 20 years ago to get marijuana for her husband, who eventually died of bone cancer.

Rep. Marie Kirkley-Bey, D-Hartford, said she has become a convert on the issue after two of her cousins recently died of cancer. She said both suffered extreme pain.

"It took a life-changing experience to realize," Kirkley-Bey said. "I was being small-minded on this issue."

But some at the Capitol said Friday the bill sends the wrong message about drug use, especially to young people.

"These people come here to this legislature talking about pain. You don't know what pain is until you've lost a son," said Steven Steiner of New York, founder of Americans for a Drug Free Youth, whose 19-year-old son died from prescription drug overdose. Steiner said his son had begun using marijuana when he was 13.

Rep. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, held a news conference earlier in the morning to counter Williams' appearance at the Capitol. While she contends marijuana may alleviate the symptoms of some medical conditions for some patients, Boucher said she believes legalizing marijuana for medical purposes will ultimately lead to full legalization of the drug.

Boucher also questioned why the state would condone smoking of the drug, which she claimed poses an additional health risk to patients.

"It makes no sense, no matter how many celebrities we have in this building," said Boucher, who only supports the medical use of marijuana for terminally ill people. She said others can use marijuana in a pill or spray.

Rep. Lawrence Miller, R-Stratford, said he decided against "smoking some kind of a weed" after being diagnosed eight years ago with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell. Miller said, through trial and error, he found the right drugs to stave off the symptoms.

"Medical marijuana, it's still marijuana -- put any name in front of it that you want," Miller said. "I think we should just stick with the doctors."

Williams ticked off a laundry list of powerful prescription drugs he takes daily. He said it's the marijuana that works the best. He mixes the plant into cookies, smokes it in the evenings before he sleeps, and drinks a liquid form during the day.

"I don't get the buzz, I don't get the high," Williams said. "Right now, all it does for me is stop the pain."

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)

 

nerphroll

No offense to Mr. Steiner, but this passage is completely irrelevant and has no place in this article.

And this guy's just an idiot. An old idiot.

Alright, I'm just tired and cranky. Goodnight.

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HELP ME IVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER 13 YEARS!!!!!!!!!!
PURIFY ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buzzby

I find it interesting that people who have actually experienced and witnessed the kind of suffering that marijuana can alleviate are in favor of legalizing it for medical purposes, while those with only theoretical knowledge are quite willing to allow people to suffer.

What does medical marijuana for sick people have to do with his son's bad judgment and his poor parenting skills? Did his son start smoking medical marijuana when he was 13? Does Steiner really believe that denying medical marijuana to sick people will make any difference in the availability of marijuana to minors? 87% of high school seniors report that marijuana is very easy to obtain.

How? Magically? Full legalization will happen only if people demand it of their representatives, in which case it should happen. Is she afraid that the truth will get out: marijuana is the safest therapeutic drug known to man and much less harmful than other popular (and legal) recreational drugs?

Many prescription drugs come with much greater risks than the risks of smoking cannabis. People use them (and doctors prescribe them) because the benefits outweigh the risks. The risks of smoking cannabis are minor anyway. Also, there's no reason cannabis has to be smoked. If eaten or vaporized the risks of smoking, small as they are, disappear.

Pills and sprays cost a fortune and are less effective than crude cannabis. When cannabis is administered by smoking or vaporizing the relief is immediate and dosage can be carefully titrated.

I'm not clear as to how that makes them better than cannabis, which is safe, cheap, and easy to take.

Uh.... Medical marijuana is recommended by doctors...

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nerphroll

Those "right drugs" are toxic as hell, with pretty nasty side effects. But they treat cancer, so we put up with them, as they're the best we've got. And many chemotherapeutic agents are derived from chemicals found in plants.

It's amazing how people we think are intelligent and get elected to legislature can be such closed thinkers. It is FEAR that keeps MJ out of the hands of those who need it, baseless fear.

16204ever

Um, I thought "sticking with the doctors" is exactly what we are trying to do.

I think he meant to stay "screw the doctors when you get cancer, stick to the politicians" .

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Pot Can Cure Cancer, and the Government knew it in 1974.

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