by Heather J. Carlson

Joni Whiting wiped away tears as she recalled her 26-year-old daughter's final days battling skin cancer.

Speaking before a Senate committee on Wednesday, Whiting said her daughter Stephanie struggled with nausea and severe pain. Desperate to ease her suffering, Stephanie's siblings gave her some marijuana. Whiting said this turned out to be the only treatment that helped her daughter overcome the nausea and eased her pain.

"I can tell you with conviction that I would have no problem going to jail for acquiring medical marijuana for my suffering child," Whiting said. "The law is unjust, and I would rather spend the rest of my life in prison than have denied her that medicine that kept her pain at bay and allowed her to live 89 more days."

Whiting was among a group of family members testifying in favor of a bill that would legalize marijuana for medical use. Opponents of the measure, including law-enforcement agencies and the Minnesota Family Council, argue that it would pose a public safety risk and is aimed at broadening acceptance of an illegal drug.

"I think it sends the wrong message to our young people," said Tom Pritchard, president of the Minnesota Family Council.

Red Wing Sen. Steve Murphy is sponsoring the bill, which would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients with "a debilitating medical condition" such as cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. Patients would carry a special card proving the right to use marijuana without being subject to criminal charges.

Murphy said the bill has stiff penalties aimed at preventing abuse.

"If you have some marijuana on you and you get caught on the streets of St. Paul, you are probably going to get a ticket and a little bit of a fine," he said. "In this bill, if you abuse the privilege of having medicinal marijuana, it's a felony offense."

The bill does have bipartisan support, but similar proposals have failed to win enough support to pass the legislature. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he shares the concerns of law enforcement and is opposed to legalizing pot for medical use, according to governor's spokesman Alex Carey.

The Senate's Health, Housing and Family Security Committee passed the bill on a voice vote. It now heads to the judiciary committee. A hearing for the House version of the bill has not yet been scheduled.

Rochester Sen. Ann Lynch voted no on the measure in the committee hearing. The Democrat said she has several concerns with the measure, including possible public safety problems and the message it sends to young people. She said there is also a lack of research supporting the use of marijuana as a medical treatment, adding "the medical community largely has been silent or opposed to this initiative."

The bill won the support of Rep. Sharon Erickson Ropes, DFL-Winona.

She told fellow committee members, "I think it's a decision that needs to be made between the doctors and the patients."