PUBLIC MARKS with tags south & carolina

A state senator whose first wife suffered a painful death wants the state to legalize medical marijuana use. Sen. Bill Mescher of Pinopolis says the issue has been on his mind for about 20 years. “My first wife died of lung cancer -- a long, agonizing death,” the Republican lawmaker said. A doctor said marijuana might help ease her pain and nausea from chemotherapy, but South Carolina law wouldn’t allow it, Mescher said. People won’t let dogs die with that kind of suffering, he said. “It’s been on my mind ever since.”

Earlier this week, Republican Sens. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Mike Crapo of Idaho proposed an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget Resolution that would have created a reserve fund to protect the Social Security surplus.