Jul 01, 2005   | COMMENTS     

the 13,145 people who have died from AIDS in the U.K. in the last two decades. “The Web site is a moving testimony to the stigma of HIV and the devastating impact of AIDS on families and communities in the early years of the virus,” Deborah Jack, chief executive of the National Aids Trust, said. “However it is also a reminder of how far the fight against HIV has come in the last 20 years.”

R.I. House passes medical marijuana bill
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A bill that would allow patients with serious diseases to smoke and grow marijuana continued its advance through the General Assembly, winning overwhelming support from House lawmakers last week. Qualifying patients suffering from diseases like cancer, AIDS and Hepatitis C would be shielded from arrest and prosecution under the bill, which passed 52-10. Their doctors and physicians also would be protected. Rhode Island would become the 11th state to authorize the medical use of marijuana, according to the legislation. If approved, the bill could put the state at odds with the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled earlier this month that medical marijuana users can be prosecuted under federal law even if their home states allow use of the drug. Under the bill, patients would be able to possess up to 12 marijuana plants or 2 1/2 ounces of usable marijuana under the legislation.