Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders is going to be in Raleigh this week to talk about state Rep. Earl Jones' bill on "alternative methods of pain management in medicine."

By "alternative methods," Jones, a Greensboro Democrat, means medical marijuana or its chemical equivalent. He wants a legislative research commission to study its use, Lynn Bonner reports.

This is the latest of Jones' heat-seeking bills. Last year, he pushed state support for stem cell research.

Elders and Jones could be political twins when it comes to raising blood pressures. Former President Bill Clinton fired her when she said that masturbation "perhaps should be taught" as part of comprehensive sex education.

Jones' office bills Elders' appearance Wednesday as an education and information session.

State Sen. Julia Boseman stuck to business Tuesday.

The New Hanover Democrat declined to talk about disclosures that she defaulted on a $1.3 million loan on her former home and smoked marijuana the year before she was elected to the legislature.

Duringa child custody hearing in December, Boseman testified that she had problems with drugs at the tail end of her relationship with her then-domestic partner in 2003. Details of her financial troubles surfaced at a different court hearing last week. (AP)

Boseman, the first openly gay legislator in North Carolina, said that she willingly testified in order to keep access to her adopted son.

"Some time ago, I was faced with a choice of losing my son or having the most intimate details of my private life exposed to the public," she said. "Like any good parent, I put my son before everything else in my life and will continue to fight for him and my family."

Her Republican opponent, attorney Michael Lee, said he would focus on political differences in his campaign. (WS-N)

A total of 173 bills competed in the second qualifying round of Speed Week.

Among the 23 that passed a third reading in either the House or the Senate yesterday:

Mega Millions High: A House bill would ban the lottery from advertising at high school sporting events. Not that they were, but a college ban died.

HPV FYI: A Senate bill would require schools tell parents that a vaccine can help prevent human papillomavirus, which causes cervical cancer.

Smoked out: A Senate bill would add blunts, a type of cigar often used to smoke marijuana, to the list of prohibited drug paraphernalia.

In other news, a Senate bill would allow terriers to compete in digging contests known as "earthdog trials," two House bills would let teachers receive their pension even if they're elected to the school board or go back to work and a House bill would let Morrisville regulate golf carts driven on town roads.