Puerto Rico to Consider Medical Marijuana

Bill before the legislature

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Legislators in Puerto Rico are preparing to debate a bill that would allow people to use marijuana for medicinal purposes in this conservative U.S. territory, officials said Thursday.

The measure would create a system to legally produce the substance and allow state health officials to regulate it, said Rep. Jose Baez, one of the bill's two authors.

It calls for a classification of medical conditions and requirements that would allow patients to smoke marijuana in their homes. Conditions would range from cancer to glaucoma to anxiety.