cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Not Reefer Madness Medical Marijuana Not Reefer Madness Posted by FoM on December 15, 2001 at 22:18:14 PT By Doug Mell, Managing Editor Source: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram Assembly Republicans should at least allow a floor vote on a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana. Or perhaps they should give voters a chance to weigh in on the issue.It didn't take long after two Democratic legislators introduced the bill for a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen to throw cold water on it. "This topic has been a perennial loser here in the Assembly that has done a lot to define Madison liberals but not much to impact the debate," said Steve Baas, a spokesman for Jensen, R-Waukesha.But people like Jacki Rickert aren't Madison liberals. Far from it. She's just a woman from Mondovi who believes that smoking marijuana gives her the kind of relief from disease that other drugs can't.Rickert only weighs 90 pounds, due to the effects of two diseases, but that is an improvement from the 68 pounds she used to weigh before she started smoking marijuana to stimulate her appetite and control nausea.Rickert has fought a long and hard battle to get into a federal program to allow her legal marijuana. Some four years ago she traveled the 210 miles to Madison to push for a bill like the one introduced this week."We all want to live life to the fullest," Rickert said in a statement this week. "not having to worry if our doors are going to be rammed in .."The bill, she said, "would allow sick and/or dying patients a quality of life rather than merely existing."The authors of the bill are Reps. Frank Boyle, D-Superior, and Mark Pocan, D-Madison. The have signed up the Wisconsin Nurses Association for support.The bill would allow people to grow or buy marijuana if their doctor gave them a statement consenting to its use for medical purposes. The bill also would allow nonprofit corporations to produce and distribute medical marijuana if they were licensed and regulated by the state Department of Health and Family Services.While some politicians may balk at the bill, it has garnered popular support all across the country. Voters in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have approved ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical marijuana. Only one state, Hawaii, got a medical-marijuana bill passed by the Legislature, and it was used as the framework for the current Wisconsin proposal.Besides the GOP leadership in the Assembly, the bill also faces the formidable opposition of the Wisconsin Medical Society. The doctors group supports ending the legal barriers to clinical trials involving medical marijuana but not going the step farther and legalizing its use in a medical setting.Some doctors believe that its effectiveness has not been proved and the bill carries too many risks, such as increased illegal drug use.Of course that risk is there. But an assortment of drugs that are prescribed every day in Wisconsin are abused, and the Medical Society doesn't advocate that they be banned.If the Assembly Republicans can't bring themselves to at least vote on the Boyle-Pocan bill, why not schedule an advisory referendum in Wisconsin asking residents what they prefer?The referendum would foster a good debate on this topic and could give lawmakers some direction on how to proceed.Newshawk: Is My Medicine Legal Yet? -- http://www.immly.orgSource: Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (WI)Author: Doug Mell, Managing EditorPublished: December 15, 2001Copyright: 2001 Eau Claire PressContact: leadertelegram ecol.netWebsite: http://www.leadertelegram.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Drug Policy Forum of Wisconsinhttp://drugsense.org/dpfwiMedical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmLawmakers Introduce Medical-Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11552.shtmlMedical Use of Pot Proposed http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11550.shtmlState Lawmakers Introduce Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11546.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by goneposthole on December 16, 2001 at 08:58:39 PT Jacki Rickert She weighed 68 lbs. and now weighs 90 lbs. The DEA had better catch up with her before she gets to her fightin' weight."This topic has been a perrenial loser here in the assembly that has done a lot to define Madison liberals but not much to impact the debate."- Steve BaasIn other words the only words that we are going to speak are ones that evade the issue, make others look dumb, we are always right, and any other talk about it won"t be heard for we will not listen. We have the power and what we say goes and on and on and blah, blah, blah.It also has done alot to define the Republican political agenda. It is not hard to see, the one that trumps all reason, flattens goodness, deflates initiative, and in general is stuck, deeply mired in a muck. Their they stand, all bleating like lost sheep.No, they are not that hard to see, they are the ones standing around pointing their fingers at everybody.For their sake, I hope Jacki Rickert doen't get to her 'fightin' weight'. Let them wallow in their self delusional pride before she does."The harder they come, the harder they fall, one and all."- Jimmy Cliff [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by ekim on December 16, 2001 at 08:14:10 PT: CA. should be mentioned Scott Ilmer is taking the heat in LA. I hope this writer will do a follow up on what is happening now there. If WI. wants to be one of the Med states the people need to know what the Feds are doing in CA. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by aocp on December 16, 2001 at 07:38:57 PT more from the pasture Some doctors believe that its effectiveness has not been proved and the bill carries too many risks, such as increased illegal drug use.They always come up with every reason in the book as to why they cannot consider this, but never try to solve the same problems they bring up. Should anyone else try to solve these problems, they're branded a terrorist. I feel like vomiting... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Jose Melendez on December 16, 2001 at 04:42:35 PT: echoes... ...But an assortment of drugs that are prescribed every day in Wisconsin are abused, and the Medical Society doesn't advocate that they be banned. Looks like Doug Mell has been doing his homework. Maybe he is reading cannabisnews.com! Arrest Prohibition [ Post Comment ] Post Comment