[420 Girl]

Va. - A breast cancer survivor and others spoke out on behalf of Del. Harvey Morgan’s effort to expand the use of marijuana for medical purposes Wednesday, but a key House Republican said that bill – and a companion measure to decriminalize possession of small amounts of the drug – will soon go up in flames.

Both proposals have generated more reaction, good and bad, than any other bill he’s carried in 31 years as a lawmaker, said Morgan, a Republican from Gloucester. While he said the response has been largely positive, he’s doubtful either will pass.

“In a political campaign, if somebody points a finger at you to say, 'You voted to liberalize marijuana laws’ it’s hard to respond to that,” Morgan said. “And I think that governs some people.”

Morgan said he is ready to bear the political cost in the name of an “honest, reasoned, compassionate and sensible approach to drug policy.”

One of his proposals, HB1134, would make possessing a small amount of marijuana a civil offense that carries a $500 fine rather than a criminal charge. It also would remove mandatory minimum sentences for distributing certain quantities of the drug and specify that an individual can possess five marijuana plants for personal use without necessarily being considered a drug dealer.

The other bill, HB1136, would clear the way for doctors to prescribe marijuana to treat maladies other than cancer and glaucoma – the only two currently allowed under state law – if it is permitted by the federal government.

“I’m going to kill that in about a millisecond in my committee,” said Del. David Albo, a Fairfax County Republican who chairs the House Courts of Justice Committee.

Albo said he thinks Morgan’s true motive is to allow people with past convictions for marijuana possession to clear their records so they’re not blocked from certain types of employment. Morgan has unsuccessfully carried legislation for that purpose in past years.

Morgan, a pharmacist by trade, was joined at a news conference Wednesday by two professors of pharmacology and toxicology from Virginia Commonwealth University’s medical school, who spoke in support of the medical marijuana bill.

Surry County resident Beth Fratarcangelo said that when she underwent chemotherapy following a mastectomy, smoking marijuana soothed the severe nausea that patients often experience.

Morgan argued that decriminalizing pot possession would save Virginia millions every year on law enforcement, court and correctional costs.

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