[420 Girl]

Democrats in the New York State Assembly and Senate are sponsoring identical bills to legalize medical marijuana.

The Democrats hold a majority in both houses, making it a real possibility that the legislation could be passed. A spokesman for Governor David Paterson told the Ithaca Journal that if the bill passes both houses, the governor will seek input from interested parties before acting.

News 10 NBC found support and opposition to the legislation here in Rochester.

Nancy Adams, executive director of the Monroe County Medical Society, supports the plan.

"It just doesn't make sense to withhold something that could actually improve someone's quality of life," said Adams. "Especially if it's an individual who may not have a lot of time left."

Many organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Cancer Society also support the idea of medical marijuana. Those groups point to scientific research that shows patients with cancer, HIV, multiple sclerosis and other serious diseases can benefit from marijuana. The drug can control nausea and vomiting, stimulate appetite and relieve severe pain.

The proposed legislation in New York would allow patients to have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, and they could also plant their own. A doctor would have to prescribe the drug for what he or she deemed a "serious condition." The patient would then get a registration card, good for one year, certifying their legal use of marijuana.

But opponents say that legalizing marijuana will create a whole new set of problems in the fight on drugs.

Tom Cook is chairman of the Monroe County Conservative Party and he sees holes in New York's proposed legislation.

"It's not strictly construed. It's wide open and subject to abuses, and if you've got abuses in California, with a similar bill, we're going to have abuses here," said Cook.

Legalized medical marijuana has become so common in California, that there are now hundreds of over-the-counter "marijuana clinics" that deal in nothing but prescribing the drug to patients with nearly any type of pain or ailment. Cook fears that the proposed legislation in New York will allow for a similar situation here.

"If the seriously ill were the only ones getting marijuana, then there's an argument for it," said Cook. "But we're afraid that it's going to get all through society, as it did in California."

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