by Don Davis, Associated Press

ST. PAUL — A new TV ad features a woman suffering from extreme back pain tearfully asking Governor Tim Pawlenty not to stand in the way of a medical marijuana bill.

The Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project says it's spending more than $100,000 to air the message statewide starting later this week.

A bill that would make Minnesota the 13th state to allow medical marijuana use is headed for a House vote. The Senate approved the legislation last year.

But Pawlenty says he stands with law enforcement in opposing the bill.

The woman in the ad, Lynn Rubenstein Nicholson of Minneapolis, says she's tired of being a criminal.

Nicholson says she broke her back as a child and currently can't use marijuana because she is required to take drug tests as a condition of receiving other pain medications.