[420 Girl]

St. Paul, MN -- The House version of Minnesota's medical marijuana bill, H.F. 292, now moves to the House floor after clearing its final committee Monday night, passing the Ways and Means Committee, 10-8.

Companion legislation has already passed the Senate.

Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, sponsor of the bill, said, "I have been pleased with the increasing support in the latest committees. Public support for protecting patients who need medical marijuana is overwhelming, and the scientific evidence is clear that this really can help some very sick people. This is going to be the year that Minnesota joins the 13 states that have already acted to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest."

Medical marijuana bills are now moving forward in a number of states, including Illinois, New Jersey and New Hampshire, where medical marijuana legislation has passed both legislative houses and is awaiting a conference committee to reconcile differences. Rhode Island legislators are currently considering a measure to expand that state's medical marijuana law, first adopted in 2006.

Thirteen states, comprising approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law if a physician has recommended it. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-settomg 63 percent "yes" vote.

Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana's medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted "marijuana's proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toixcity," in a statement issued last year.

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