By MIKE KASZUBA and PAT DOYLE, Star Tribune staff writers

Last update: May 22, 2009 - 11:42 PM

Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed an emotionally charged proposal late Friday to allow terminally ill patients to use marijuana for medical purposes.

Pawlenty, who in 2008 set an apparent single-year record for most vetoes by a Minnesota governor, indicated in a letter that he was torn by the medical marijuana legislation. He said that while he was "sympathetic to those dealing with end-of-life illnesses," he felt marijuana poses "serious public safety and health risks." Legalizing marijuana, even under limited conditions, "could serve to compound these problems," he wrote.