Illinois senator working to legalize medical marijuana
Another Senator behind legislation to make medical cannabis available to Americans.
SPRINGFIELD — State Sen. John Cullerton is making another run at legislation that would make it easier for the seriously ill to legally use marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“This is about the patients. It’s not about somebody abusing this law to illegally obtain marijuana,” said Sen. Cullerton, D-Chicago.
Wednesday, a Senate committee approved a measure that would allow people to obtain a state-issued medical marijuana identification card so they could legally possess and use marijuana.
More and more states should follow.
Julie Falco, of Chicago, has suffered from debilitating multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years. To ease the pain, she eats 1-inch marijuana brownie cubes three times a day.
Medical marijuana patients do not need to “smoke” the medicine. The woman above chooses to ingest her medicine, via “pot brownies.” Or, by using a vaporizer provides a safe, controlled use of “marijuana as medicine.”
Ms. Falco told lawmakers that she has tried many pharmaceutical drugs for her disease, but marijuana is the only thing that seems to help her symptoms without causing negative side effects. Still, there is always the worry that she will get in trouble, she said.
Sen. Cullerton said the purpose of his bill is to decriminalize the use of marijuana by those who really need it for legitimate medical reasons. A similar bill has been introduced by a Republican lawmaker in the Illinois House.
Under Sen. Cullerton’s bill, a medical marijuana program would be administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health. Qualifying patients would receive an ID card after providing written certification from their doctors.
Decriminalize, and realize most Americans support the idea that marijuana is medicine.