[420 Girl]

New York - For the first time, a bill to legalize marijuana for medical use has cleared a major hurdle in the New York State senate. Supporters are releasing commercials; testimonies from real people including Joel from Buffalo who says he suffers chronic pain.

“It took away the pain,” he says looking directly into the camera. “I didn't have stomach cramps. I could sleep."

Studies have shown patients with AIDS, cancer and terminal illness get real relief from the THC in marijuana. “It's a patient who's very sick they're in pain, they're nauseous they've tried other things that aren't working,” says Nancy Adams of the Monroe County Medical Society. The organization supports the legislation.

The bill does not let physicians prescribe the drug. Instead they would certify a person as eligible. That patient would then register with the state health department.

“We just can't willy nilly prescribe it,” says Nancy Adams. “We have to stick to the criteria of very sick or terminally ill patients. It would be medical malpractice if the physician prescribed it for anyone."

Patients could not legally smoke marijuana in public places, resell it, or share it with anyone else. This version is more acceptable to some lawmakers because it also would not allow patients to grow their own plants.

Two polls taken in February show voters back medical marijuana: 71 percent in the Quinnipiac University poll, 50 percent in a Siena Research poll. Yet it may be the state budget deficit that is driving lawmakers to reconsider this controversial bill.

NY would raise $15 million a year licensing growers and dispensaries. Taxing the drug itself could raise $500 million a year. The state is facing a $9 million budget gap.

Oncology pharmacists agree THC is known to benefit cancer patients. But they’re concerned about quality control. How do patients -- some who are very, very sick and prone to side effects -- really know what they're getting?

"To say a patient can get some leaves from someone and not knowing the exact amount... in the leaves it just seems a little bizarre,” says Dr. John Loughner an oncology pharmacist at Wilmot Cancer Center.

In 1983, Rochester was part of a controlled release study that used the active ingredient THC in a pill form. That drug is called marinol. Opponents of this law say patients can use this legal drug. Others argue inhaling the THC benefits patients with mouth and throat cancers who can’t always swallow pills.

This bill has passed the NY Assembly in years past, but it's the first time it’s gotten out of a senate committee. It may come up for a full senate vote in the coming weeks.

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