cannabisnews.com: Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill 





Committee Passes Medical Marijuana Bill 
Posted by CN Staff on February 06, 2003 at 20:49:12 PT
By Allison Fashek 
Source: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle 
Cheyenne – Over the past decade or so, state Sen. Keith Goodenough, D-Casper, has sponsored a bill six or seven times to legalize the use of medical marijuana. Every year the bill failed, more often than not during debate by the Senate Judiciary Committee – until now.Just after 8 a.m. Wednesday, with an audience of four people, the committee passed the bill with a 3-2 vote. Sens. Bruce Burns, R-Sheridan, and Ken Decaria, D-Evanston joined Goodenough in voting for the bill, while Sens. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange, and John Hanes, R-Cheyenne, voted against it.
“It’s a fairness issue,” Goodenough said. “If you’re gonna die in two months, you should be able to do whatever you want. It really bothers me that the government steps between the doctor and patient.”Goodenough based the bill on the initiative that passed in Colorado in 2000. Senate File 44 authorizes patients with debilitating illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV and AIDS or any medical condition approved by the Wyoming Department of Health to use marijuana as a treatment.The health department would provide registration cards identifying a patient as someone who has received written certification from a physician saying that the benefits of the medical use of the drug would likely outweigh the health risks.The bill limits patients to obtaining two ounces of the drug and maintaining no more than six marijuana plants, with three or fewer being mature.Patients under the influence would not be allowed to drive or operate heavy machinery or use the drug in a school bus or other public vehicle, on school grounds, or in a public recreation area, workplace or correctional facility.Opponents say the bill poses a difficult state and federal conflict because the use of marijuana is illegal under federal law, even though nine states have enacted the legislation. Eight of the laws came about by popular vote.“I think it sets up untenable circumstances,” Hanes said.Meier voted against the bill because it does not provide assurances about control of the drug by a pharmaceutical or prescription drug authority.“We wouldn’t let people manufacture morphine even though they have a prescription for it,” Meier said.The bill also skips over how proper users should obtain the drug or its seeds.Will Bierman, a deputy public defender, spoke in support of the bill as a concerned citizen. But he advocated that legislators consider having the federal government regulate the supply source of the drug.Meier, who has had glaucoma for 30 years, also said he thinks that allowing glaucoma patients to use medical marijuana opens the door to abuse of the provision because so many other treatment options are available.His amendment to remove the inclusion of glaucoma failed, though, because the majority of lawmakers felt doctors should be the ones to make that decision.On the other side of the argument, Burns said he supported the bill because he saw how the use of medical marijuana eased the suffering of an uncle battling lung cancer. The drug made a profound difference in the remainder of his life, Burns added.He also discounted the protests of a lobbyist from the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, who shared anecdotal information that the use of marijuana leads to violence.“I have a hard time picturing terminally ill patients going out and harassing people,” Burns said. “I think we’re talking apples and oranges here.”The bill now heads to the full Senate for debate.Though this is the first time the bill has made it out of Senate committee, the bill did pass the full House with a vote of 57-7 in 1992.Recently, Goodenough also tried to tag an amendment allowing the use of medical marijuana onto a bill being discussed on the Senate floor. The amendment was only narrowly defeated, 16-14. Source: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (WY)Author: Allison Fashek Published: Thursday, February 6, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Wyoming Tribune-EagleContact: opinion wyomingnews.comWebsite: http://www.wyomingnews.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on February 07, 2003 at 04:05:50 PT
Cops seek urine
The violence theory is one of the 1st to have been debunked.
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Comment #1 posted by freedom fighter on February 06, 2003 at 21:39:12 PT
How does Med. Pot and Prohibition
Works together?Just listen very carefully.."It’s a fairness issue,” Goodenough said. “If you’re gonna die in two months, you should be able to do whatever you want. It really bothers me that the government steps between the doctor and patient.”I am so happy! Mr. Goodenough, but that is not ENOUGH! It takes 4 months to harvest the plant.. 2 ounces??Sounds so Fair??2 months to live and 4 months to harvest the fruit??See why I hate prohibition as much as I do to "MED. pot" laws??ff
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