Group pushes for legislative approval of medical marijuana

CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Monitor, NM
01/08/06

Los Alamos resident Jenni Gaffney attended a conference in Long Beach about medical marijuana and returned home to found the local chapter of Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).

The group is working hard to encourage Gov. Bill Richardson and local legislatures to allow medical marijuana legislation to be considered in the upcoming legislative session, which starts Jan. 17.

If this doesn't happen, the group contends that sick and dying patients who need legal access to medical marijuana won't have another chance for protection until 2007.

"So far Bill Richardson has not made a decision about whether to place the medical marijuana issue on his call list," Gaffney said during an interview on Wednesday.

Gaffney said some 81 percent of New Mexico voters support this issue adding that nationally, polls consistently show that 70-80 percent of voters want to make this medicine available for sick and dying people.

"This is a winning issue for elected officials of all parties," she said. "We need to take a stand for the sick patients in our districts who need this medicine."