cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Rejected Medical Marijuana Rejected Posted by CN Staff on February 27, 2003 at 16:06:19 PT By Courtney Lowery, Gazette State Bureau Source: Billings Gazette Helena -- The state House voted down a bill Wednesday that sponsor Rep. Ron Erickson, D-Missoula, said would have sent a message to the state that "pain counts." House Bill 506, to allow patients to use medicinal marijuana for pain or illness relief, died in the House, 60-40. Opponents said the bill would send the wrong message -- that it's OK to use marijuana. The bill's initial hearing in the House Judiciary Committee last week was emotional, as chronic pain sufferers and multiple sclerosis patients told the committee how cannabis had saved their livelihoods and in some cases, their lives. Erickson told the House he wished all members could have heard that testimony. "People of this country want to be able to deal with pain," Erickson said. "They want to deal with pain with medicinal marijuana." Nine states have adopted medicinal marijuana laws, including Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. Opponents said the bill would make the substance more accessible to children and move the state too close to legalization. The committee last week passed the bill, 13-5, but on Wednesday some of those who approved the bill in committee voted against it on the floor. Rep. Michael Lange, R-Billings, cast one of those votes. Proponents' emotional testimony moved him to vote in favor of the bill last week, he said, but he changed his vote on the House floor, partly because of the tentative passage Wednesday of a bill that seeks to prevent pain in aborted fetuses. "I watched almost half of this body vote against a bill that I honestly believe goes for pain reduction," he said. "If what we're boiling things down to are the politics of the day, I have to be consistent with my own party." Rep. Jesse Laslovich, D-Anaconda, called Lange's explanation a political game and "nothing but an emphatic cop-out." Like many other supporters, Laslovich told the House that the bill is restrictive. The bill would have made candidates annually apply for identification cards that register them as a medicinal marijuana users and would allow patients only 1 ounce of cannabis or 15 marijuana plants. They could not smoke in public or drive under the influence. "I would hope we could allow people in pain an option," Laslovich said. Newshawk: Ethan Russo M.D.Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)Author: Courtney Lowery, Gazette State Bureau Published: Thursday, February 27, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Billings GazetteContact: speakup billingsgazette.comWebsite: http://www.billingsgazette.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Montana NORMLhttp://www.montananorml.org/House Kills Medical Marijuana Proposal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15577.shtmlMedicinal Marijuana Clouds The Floor in Helena http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15517.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #12 posted by billos on February 28, 2003 at 14:48:27 PT: Messages?? Well, Uh, Yeah.. .. It is Ok for responsible adults to use cannabis if they want. (I never could figure out for whom that particular message is intended for) [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by freedom fighter on February 27, 2003 at 22:29:36 PT Any Doctor Quack or not! Rep. Michael Lange, R-Billings, cast one of those votes. Proponents' emotional testimony moved him to vote in favor of the bill last week, he said, but he changed his vote on the House floor, partly because of the tentative passage Wednesday of a bill that seeks to prevent pain in aborted fetuses. "I watched almost half of this body vote against a bill that I honestly believe goes for pain reduction," he said. "If what we're boiling things down to are the politics of the day, Rep. Michael Lange, R-Billings, cast one of those votes. Proponents' emotional testimony moved him to vote in favor of the bill last week, he said, but he changed his vote on the House floor, partly because of the tentative passage Wednesday of a bill that seeks to prevent pain in aborted fetuses. "I watched almost half of this body vote against a bill that I honestly believe goes for pain reduction," he said. "If what we're boiling things down to are the politics of the day, I have to be consistent with my own party." ---Is Mr. Lange a doctor or an expert in aborted fetuses's pain? I really do not understand how some human beings who have had listened and in fact saw a man who is in a wheelchair. You see, I mean, can't you see this man used to walked and he walked in to a cage and came out in a wheelchair because he got busted for growing some plants. Mr. Lange stated "I have to be consistent with my own party." Or in other word, "It's NOT for the people, nor By the people, but, I am just a modern fake NAZI worrying about the pain of aborted fetues. FUCK the human beings who go to cages and come out in wheelchairs becuz they grew plants."----ff [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Virgil on February 27, 2003 at 22:26:40 PT Want to see something really strange? DrugWar.com has an article titled "The New Salem." Don't read the article first as the pictures tell the story even without caption. What rock were all these fundamentalist hiding under all these years? http://www.drugwar.com/cavanaughnewsalem.shtm [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Nuevo Mexican on February 27, 2003 at 22:14:13 PT Are Americans (bush and Co.) acting like Bastards? Take the poll, it's 50/50 right now with YES 5 votes ahead:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/polls/pollResults?vote=20694&id=17028&pollid=17028&answerid=20694&save=_save17028&show_vote_always=no&hub=FCanadians think so, and if she had said 'bush' it wouldn't of been reported. The world is fed up with our crap, since we tolerate bush, ashcroft, ridge and rumsfeld. It shows how our prohibition bullies have gone to far in Canada, and the cracks are cracking! Between the recent arrests, the Iraqi 'Game', bushes insanity, its good to see someone calling a spada a spade! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 27, 2003 at 21:42:38 PT Thanks 312 Here it is!http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread15600.shtml [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by freedom fighter on February 27, 2003 at 21:35:38 PT 312 LTE=Letter To Editorff [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by 312 on February 27, 2003 at 21:21:44 PT This fantasy world of drug prohibition (Unrelated to this article)I think this article more or less hits the nail on the headPlease posthttp://argument.independent.co.uk/regular_columnists/johann_hari/story.jsp?story=382021Someone please explain - what does LTE stand for? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 27, 2003 at 18:25:23 PT On World Link - TV I was looking on the satellite to try to find something besides war to watch and found this program. I don't know if cable carries World Link TV but here it is in case you all get it too and are interested in seeing it.First Peoples' TV: The Peyote Road "Peyote Road" addresses the United States Supreme Court "Smith" decision, which denied protection of 1st Amendment religious liberty to the sacramental use of Peyote for Indigenous people, one of the oldest tribal religions in the Western Hemisphere. Examining the European tradition of religious intolerance and documenting the centuries old sacramental use of the cactus Peyote, the film explains how the "Smith" decision put religious freedom in jeopardy for all Americans. Available from Kifaru Productions. "The Peyote Road" is part of the "First Peoples' TV"series made possible by DreamCatchers, a non-profit organization working to bring Native films to a wider audience.http://www.worldlinktv.com/cgi-bin/displayProgram.cgi?code=peyote [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Virgil on February 27, 2003 at 18:01:30 PT The top of the ninth, 1 out It is a 65 year-old game that is now in its last inning. The score is 80 to 20. The losing team is about to be booed off the field. The opposition has one strike left in its next to last out with no balls. We won't need another turn at bat.I only wish now someone with guts would send a bill through with no state penalty for cannabis. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 27, 2003 at 17:33:57 PT Dr. Russo We might be down but we're not out. As long as we keep trying we will finally win. History will record how wrong they've been. What's New [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on February 27, 2003 at 17:15:15 PT: There You Go Now you see what we were up against in this effort.See you at the ballot box in 2004. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment