Reschedule Cannabis

Minnesota is moving closer to securing protection for medical marijuana patients.

“Medical Cannabis Bill Passes Senate Committee in Bipartisan Vote, 8-3″

One of those testifying was Joni Whiting of Jordan, a disabled Vietnam veteran who had strongly disapproved of marijuana use until her daughter was diagnosed with melanoma and began suffering unbearable nausea and pain from the treatments. “I was opposed to marijuana,” Whiting said, “but the nausea my daughter suffered from the chemotherapy was so bad she lost a lot of weight, and the pills the doctor prescribed didn’t help — including Marinol, the THC pill. Marijuana allowed her to eat and also helped ease her pain, and she looked better than I’d seen her in months. I would have rather spent the rest of my life in prison than have denied her the medicine that kept her pain at bay and allowed her to live 89 more days.”

This is exactly why medical marijuana needs to be approved. Even marinol pill does not work as effectively, and safely as the natural cannabis.

Minnesota’s medical marijuana bill, S.F. 97, cleared its first major hurdle this afternoon, passing the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee in a bipartisan vote of 8 to 3. The committee received spoken and written testimony from a number of patients and family members describing the relief provided by medical marijuana when conventional treatments had failed.

“I believe this will be the year medical marijuana becomes law in Minnesota,” said Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), a sponsor of the bill. “We’ve seen now from the experiences of 13 states — one-quarter of the country — that these laws work well, and that the dire warnings of opponents simply don’t come true. The voters understand that there is no reason to subject suffering patients to arrest and jail for using a doctor-recommended medicine.”

More and more law makers are choosing the side of compassion and reason…

“I’m pleased to co-author this important legislation that will empower doctors and patients while protecting sick and dying Minnesotans from the threat of criminal prosecution,” said Sen. Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake). “Most FDA-approved drugs assist in managing short-term pain. Chronically ill and terminal patients need alternatives. Medical marijuana is one of those alternatives.”

Even Republicans are behind the effort to legalize medical marijuana.

Thirteen states, including one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-setting 63 percent “yes” vote. Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana’s medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted “marijuana’s proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity,” in a statement issued last year.

A plan to let seriously ill patients smoke pot is back at the Minnesota Legislature.

A plan to let seriously ill patients smoke pot is back at the Minnesota Legislature. The bill from DFL Senator Steve Murphy gets its first hearing of the session in a Senate health panel on Wednesday. The legislation would allow those with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and other debilitating conditions to use marijuana to control pain and other symptoms. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has stood against the proposal and has said it would make enforcing drug laws harder. Lawmakers have considered medical marijuana bills going back a decade, without signing off. However, two years ago, the full Senate passed the bill.

Its time to stop allowing politically motivated Governors to stop people in pain from getting medical marijuana.

ST. PAUL — More than 10,000 seriously ill Minnesotans could control pain with marijuana legally if a bill headed to the full House becomes law.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted 13-4, with 12 members absent, Wednesday to advance the measure. But Gov. Tim Pawlenty is likely to veto it if the House passes the measure.

“Gov. Pawlenty stands with law enforcement in opposition to this bill,” Pawlenty spokesman Brian McClung said.

Even if the bill faces a veto, sponsor Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, said it is important to pass it as a message to Minnesotans.

The issue has arisen several times over the years, but has failed to pass the House. It passed the Senate last year, so if the House passes the measure – as Huntley expects – it heads directly to Pawlenty.

Many legislative committees heard testimony last year, so none was accepted on Wednesday.

Huntley said there are two changes from a year ago. One is that the College of American Physicians has endorsed medical marijuana use.

The other change, he said, is that “some of the people who testified last year have died.”

The bill allows doctors to approve marijuana use to reduce chronic pain. Patients could have up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana at any one time.

If the bill became law, state officials predict at least 10,000 Minnesotans would use marijuana.

Why should we not allow patients use cannabis as medicine? Some of these people died fighting for medical marijuana.

A dozen other states allow medical marijuana use, and Neal Levine of the Medical Marijuana Policy Project said it is important to those with chronic pain.

“The states are trying to protect their own citizens because the federal government arrests sick people,” Levine said.

Federal authorities have arrested people using marijuana for medical reasons, citing laws outlawing the practice.

“The overwhelming majority of the public supports it,” Huntley added.

Sick people should not be arrested for using marijuana as medicine.

There are many Medical Marijuana users who have moved from an area that has access to medical cannabis to an area that it is still illegal, and this creates a problem for those types of patients who have no choice but to live in certain areas. Medical Marijuana should be available to all American citizens who need to use it… below is a quote from a patient defending medical marijuana in the news.

Medical marijuana bill should be law

The medical marijuana bill – passed by the Minnesota Senate last year and likely to see action on the floor of the House in the coming months – should be passed into law as soon as possible.

As a patient suffering from severe neuropathy and other pain-related conditions, this is a major issue in my life. I previously lived in

Hawaii and was a legal medical marijuana patient under that state’s program. It helped me more than the regimen of addictive, dangerous medications I’ve been prescribed over the years.

And just last month, the American College of Physicians — the second largest physician group in the United States, with a membership of over 124,000 medical professionals — recognized marijuana’s many medical benefits with 10 pages of references and citations. Their official policy position “strongly urges protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws.”

Unfortunately, Governor Pawlenty has threatened to veto any medical marijuana bill, based on the knee-jerk opposition of a small but influential group of non-experts. The governor seems to believe that law enforcement officers know better than medical professionals which method of treatment would best suit an individual patient.

The governor should reconsider. This is a mainstream and popular issue, with 2 to 1 support from Minnesotans. It’s time our lawmakers and governor listen to the physicians and their own constituents, and end the cruel, despicable policy of arresting suffering patients for trying to alleviate their pain.

Medical Marijuana should be legalized in your state…