[420 Girl]

Supporters of medical marijuana plan to make another pass at legalizing the remedy in New York - and their hopes are high.

"I think we've got by far the best chance we've ever had," said Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat.

Gottfried and Sen. Thomas Duane, another Manhattan Democrat, plan to introduce legislation Tuesday making it legal for people with serious medical conditions to buy limited amounts of marijuana from state-certified distributors or grow it themselves.

The bill is virtually identical to one that Gottfried has been pushing for more than a decade - and which has repeatedly gone up in smoke in the GOP-controlled Senate.

Although Democrats now control 32 of the Senate's 62 seats, Duane declined to say whether the bill has enough votes to pass. Some Democrats, he said, are still undecided. "No matter what, we are in better shape than we were last year," Duane said.

Gov. Paterson has not taken a position on the bill, said spokesman Errol Cockfield.

"If the bill successfully passes both houses and reaches the governor's desk, the administration will seek input from interested parties before the governor acts," Cockfield said.

Under the bill, people suffering from specific diseases such as cancer or HIV-related ills could obtain a certification from their doctor that would allow them to possess up to 2-1/2 ounces of marijuana and up to 12 plants.

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