[420 Girl]

New York - Steps to legalize medicinal marijuana took a huge step forward last week. Assemblyman Richard Gottfried and Sen. Thomas Duane spoke about their support of two bills at a press conference held last Tuesday. They were joined by patients fighting for the legalization of the drug, and the lawmakers cited that marijuana could lessen the patients’ painful conditions.

“It is cruel to make seriously ill patients criminals for relying on medical marijuana for relief when their doctor recommends it,” said Gottfried, who has been working on the bill for 13 years.

He said: “I hope that the Senate and the governor will make this the year we protect patients from arrest for simply treating a serious condition.”

Legislators proposed the bill in the hopes of giving relief to chronically ill patients while strictly enforcing policies that will ensure people do not abuse the availability of marijuana.

“There is no reason we can’t establish common sense controls to ensure safe access to this medicine for suffering patients who have their doctors’ recommendations while ensuring it doesn’t wind up in the wrong hands,” Duane said.

Some NYU students, such as LSP freshman Gigi Braybrooks, say they doubt marijuana abuse could be prevented if the drug’s use is legalized.

“If marijuana was legalized for medicinal purposes, as it is in California, of course people would abuse it,” Braybrooks said. “But don’t the positives ultimately outweigh the negatives?”

Because Democrats hold a majority of the seats in both the New York Assembly and Senate, both Gottfried and Duane are hopeful for the passage of the bill.

“[It’s] the best chance we’ve ever had,” Gottfried said.

While Gottfried claims that there is still plenty of time for the chambers to pull through, there are currently no members of the Republican party signed on to Duane’s bill.

Gottfried’s bill currently rests in the Assembly Health Committee but is expected to move to the floor of the chamber by late May.

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