cannabisnews.com: Hawaii Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill Hawaii Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill Posted by FoM on April 25, 2000 at 19:59:50 PT By Bruce Dunford, Associated Press Source: FoxNews The state Senate approved a bill Tuesday allowing people with certain debilitating illnesses, including AIDS and cancer, to legally smoke marijuana to alleviate pain. The bill now goes to Gov. Ben Cayetano, who has said he'll sign the measure into law. That would make Hawaii the eighth state to approve the medicinal use of marijuana but the first to do so through legislation instead of a voter referendum. Patients who want to smoke marijuana to alleviate pain, combat chemotherapy treatments and stimulate appetite would require written certification from a doctor and would have to register annually with the state public safety department. The measure, already approved by the House, was approved by the Senate through a 15-10 vote. "This bill will protect from arrest both the patient who might find a use for marijuana and the doctor who might recommend its use,'' said Democratic Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, the chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee. Sen. Norman Sakamoto, also a Democrat, opposed the bill, saying, "We're approving something that the federal government says is illegal.'' Alaska, Washington, California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Maine and the District of Columbia have approved laws allowing doctors to recommend marijuana use by patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma and other conditions. The Justice Department is challenging those laws. For FoxNews.com comments write to: comments newsdigital.comFor Fox News Channel comments write to: comments foxnews.com Honolulu (AP) Published: April 25, 2000© News Digital Media 2000. Related Articles & Web Sites:Hawaii Medical Marijuana Institute http://www.medijuana.com/Drug Policy Forum Of Hawaiihttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfhi/Lawmakers Appear Near Accord on Medical Marijuanahttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5467.shtmlMedical Marijuana Issue Comes of Agehttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5458.shtmlHawaii Congresswoman Supports Medical Marijuana Researchhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread1880.shtmlChasing Smoke - Letters To The Editor & Series:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread5334.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #2 posted by greenfox on April 26, 2000 at 00:17:14 PT The Prophecy The walls upon which the prophets wrote is cracking at the seams... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by military officer guy on April 25, 2000 at 21:31:57 PT 8 down 42 to go excellent job hawaii, that is what i call real leadership...it's amazing there are politicians out there that actually care about their people... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: