It would be foolish and arguably inhumane to discount the steady stream of witnesses who come before the Connecticut legislature every year and testify, at some legal risk, that for them only the use of marijuana provides relief from various debilitating diseases without the unbearable side effects of medically prescribed drugs.

The Connecticut State Medical Society sees things differently. It continues to oppose state legalization for medical use. This naturally-growing plant lacks the research and federal approval that pharmaceutical-company drugs receive only after extensive clinical trials to determine efficacy and side effects. Marijuana does not have, in medical verbiage, "a reliable and reproducible dose."

But given the continuing and consistent testimony of the relief marijuana can provide for many, allowing them to live more active lives, we opt for compassion over medicinal conclusiveness and urge the legislature to approve the medical marijuana law and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to sign it.

What the state cannot afford is a California-type model, with rules written so loosely that the drug can be prescribed for seemingly anything and everything and easily obtained in a near de facto legalization. Whether it makes sense to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana for recreational use is a debate for another time. Backdoor legalization should not come in the form of medical marijuana and it appears the legislature has been careful to assure that will not happen.

Only pharmacists could dispense marijuana for medical use and it would require a certificate from a physician. The bill spells out the permitted medical uses, including for the side effects of cancer treatment, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, post-traumatic and nervous system disorders.

Erik Williams, executive director of the Connecticut chapter of NORML, a group that has pushed for medical marijuana laws across the country, called the Connecticut proposal "the single best-written legislation" in the country. (True, NORML would prefer outright legalization, but it appears to recognize that poorly written medical marijuana laws that result in abuse only undermine future legalization efforts.)

Use of the drug remains a federal crime, but the Obama administration has signaled it is not interested in cracking down on legitimate medical use approved by states. We would not expect Republicans, the party of state rights, to act any differently in the White House.

Approve the bill.