Sponsor Rep. Penny Bacchiochi (R-Somers) has personal experience with medical marijuana: she bought the drug on the streets 20 years ago to help ease the suffering of her husband, who later died of bone cancer. She said her bill would eliminate fear of arrest as one of the concerns faced by sick people seeking medical marijuana. "We are the ones who are afraid to purchase it for our loved ones in fear of prosecution," said Bacchiochi.

Her bill would allow patients and their caregivers to keep up to five marijuana and one ounce of the drug. The Connecticut Nurses Association has endorsed medical marijuana, but other healthcare groups remain skeptical. "This is a chemical that people are advocating to go from the garden or wherever it's grown, into your body, without going through the scrutiny of science," said Mark Kraus, the immediate past president of the Connecticut Society of Addiction Medicine.

Under Connecticut law, doctors can prescribe marijuana to help patients with pain and nausea. But concern about federal prosecution has blocked doctors from doing so.

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