cannabisnews.com: MMJ Legalization Measure Passes Illinois Committee MMJ Legalization Measure Passes Illinois Committee Posted by CN Staff on March 04, 2009 at 13:30:16 PT By Ashley Rueff Source: Chicago Tribune Illinois -- Marijuana user Lucie MacFarlane said she munched a ginger snap cannabis cookie before talking to lawmakers at the Capitol today.Describing her condition, the 46-year-old Joliet woman testified at a House committee that she illegally uses marijuana to relieve the constant pain she suffers from neurofibromatosis and from a surgery that fused her spine incorrectly. The tale was enough to get the panel to advance legislation that would legalize the use of medical marijuana in Illinois.The bill passed the Democratic-controlled House Human Services Committee on a 4-3 party-line vote. It's the first time such legislation has cleared a House panel. It now goes to the full House for consideration, so it's far from becoming law.Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), who sponsored the legislation, said he wants to create a three-year test program allowing anyone with a “debilitating medical condition” to have seven dried cannabis plants and two ounces of dried usable cannabis to relieve the pain and nausea associated with conditions like cancer, HIV or Crohn’s disease. The bill would allow the Department of Public Health to give registry identification cards to people who have received recommendation for cannabis use from a doctor, Lang said.If it becomes law, the bill would make Illinois the 14th state to allow the medical use of cannabis, Lang said. A similar bill is pending in the Senate.David Jocson, statewide drug enforcement coordinator with the Illinois State Police, opposed the bill because he said marijuana is not an FDA-approved medication and because allowing people using cannabis for medicinal purposes would make it easier for others to obtain.Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Legalization Measure Passes Illinois House Committee for First TimeSource: Chicago Tribune (IL)Author: Ashley RueffPublished: March 4, 2009Copyright: 2009 Chicago Tribune CompanyContact: ctc-TribLetter Tribune.comWebsite: http://www.chicagotribune.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/gcpUIhb2Related Articles:Legislators Consider Medical Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24539.shtmlLegislation Would Legalize MJ for Certain Peoplehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24493.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by runruff on March 04, 2009 at 19:42:58 PT "All I know is what I read in the papers- W.Rogers ".....allowing people using cannabis for medicinal purposes would make it easier for others to obtain."Are you freakin' kiddin' me!!! Is this idiot in denial or just a plain, everyday, run of the mill, LEOnistic, moron!!! In Chicago they have home delivery! Like Domino's! You call your guy, who wears a beeper, he rushes over with your order. FYI, he accepts tips.I hear the older guys in prison complain that the pot rackets were all being taken over by the youngers! They are high tech savvy so they easily set up their indoor grow and market the herb themselves.Illinois sits on the Canadian boarder which is so full of unregulated passages and back roads it is a joke to speak of boarder security.When I here these inane comments by high paid officials, I cringe. If this is the best we can do for our public servants, well I could look to Japan, Germany or even China for a model public servant. This guy, oh my, I could have a melt down trying to fathom what in the name of Jimmy Fine he is doing in that position!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by itsonlyaplant on March 04, 2009 at 18:21:16 PT As if.... David Jocson, statewide drug enforcement coordinator with the Illinois State Police, opposed the bill because he said marijuana is not an FDA-approved medication and because allowing people using cannabis for medicinal purposes would make it easier for others to obtain.As if people can't get oxycontin, vicodin, xanax, or a myriad of other drugs from someone's medicine cabinet. Give me a break. Prohibs think they sound really intelligent and thoughful when they sound off and spout out tired anti-cannabis rhetoric when in reality they sound like uninformed buffoons. Enough citizens of the world KNOW what cannabis is and isn't, the emperor really does have new clothes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Hope on March 04, 2009 at 15:26:09 PT It must be a typo or some other mistake Surely they mean seven live plants. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Hope on March 04, 2009 at 15:25:22 PT What? "...to have seven dried cannabis plants and two ounces of dried usable cannabis".I've never seen any thing put like that. Dried cannabis plants AND two ounces... dried and usable.What's that about? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 04, 2009 at 14:50:06 PT Medical Pot Bill Advances in Springfield http://www.wbez.org/Content.aspx?audioID=32572 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment