cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana is OK'd, But a Veto Looms

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  Medical Marijuana is OK'd, But a Veto Looms

Posted by CN Staff on May 19, 2009 at 04:08:37 PT
By Kevin Duchschere and Pat Doyle, Staff Writers 
Source: Star-Tribune  

Minnesota -- A bill that permits terminally ill patients to use marijuana to ease their pain cleared the House and Senate on Monday night, a measure significantly narrowed from an earlier version that would have allowed any suffering patient, terminal or not, to use the drug for medical purposes.The House passed the bill, 70-64, a victory for supporters who have long worked to get medical marijuana legalized in Minnesota, but one not nearly big enough to override the likely veto by Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
Hoping to make the bill more palatable to Pawlenty, Rep. Joe Atkins, DFL-Inver Grove Heights, introduced the last-minute amendment to allow marijuana to be used only by terminal patients. But there seemed little chance that Pawlenty, who has long expressed reservations, was inclined to approve the bill in any form.The Senate, which previously had passed a broader version, took up the amended bill after the House vote and approved it, 38-28.The issue of medical marijuana, which has been legalized by 13 states, prompted impassioned debate that pitted concern for the suffering against worries that legalizing the drug even for limited use would lead to increased drug addiction and crime.The Atkins amendment made no difference to Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Delano, who insisted on calling the drug "medicinal pot.""It is a gateway drug. It does lead to other issues," he said."You should be ashamed of yourself," said Rep. Thomas Huntley, DFL-Duluth, a sponsor of the bill.Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, who is a police chief, said the potential benefits of the legislation didn't outweigh its drawbacks. Legalizing marijuana even for limited circumstances will lead to problems for officers, he said. "I'm just not willing to give up on the war on drugs," Cornish said.But other members said they favored the measure, citing sick family members who they said might have suffered less if they had access to medical marijuana. Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, his voice shaky, said that after a while morphine didn't help his dying mother.And Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, a usually reliable conservative vote, said that medical marijuana wasn't a partisan issue. "Let's do the right thing for a few people," said Buesgens, who voted for the bill.Complete Article: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/45368602.htmlSource: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Author: Kevin Duchschere and Pat Doyle, Star Tribune Staff Writers Published: May 18, 2009 Copyright: 2009 Star Tribune Contact: opinion startribune.com Website: http://www.startribune.com/Related Articles: Medical Marijuana in Minnesotahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24773.shtml State Senate Approves Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24766.shtml

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Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 23, 2009 at 05:13:34 PT
Pawlenty Vetoes Medical Marijuana
May 22, 2009Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed an emotionally charged proposal late Friday to allow terminally ill patients to use marijuana for medical purposes, but signed into law a plan to disburse hundreds of millions of dollars from the Legacy Amendment passed by Minnesotans last year.URL: http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/45881087.html
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 19, 2009 at 15:17:18 PT

Pawlenty Says He Will Veto Medical Marijuana Bill
URL: http://minnesotaindependent.com/35186/pawlenty-says-he-will-veto-medical-marijuana-bill
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Comment #6 posted by Had Enough on May 19, 2009 at 13:18:55 PT

Cops making their own laws,,,???
“”Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, who is a police chief, said the potential benefits of the legislation didn't outweigh its drawbacks. Legalizing marijuana even for limited circumstances will lead to problems for officers, he said. "I'm just not willing to give up on the war on drugs," Cornish said.”It looks to me like cops are making their own laws to enforce.How can a police chief be a legislator at the same time??? How can people even condider electing a person for a representative when he already has a job as a police chief??? I wonder how he deligates his time bettweeen the two positions???I’ll bet he gets two paychecks with a double benefits package…Voters in Minnesota need to pay attention…vote this guy out…and have a hard look at Gov. Tim Pawlenty too…************Free the weed…Clean the streets…Equal with letuce, tomatoes, peppers and onions…***FoM…I goofed again…delete my prior post…this was the one I wanted to post…Too many things going on today at this end …

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Comment #4 posted by Vincent on May 19, 2009 at 07:52:28 PT:

Jackass No. 2
Minnesota State Rep. Tony Cornish, a Republican (of course),
and a pi-, I mean Police Chief, is against this bill because he "doesn't want problems with his officers". What does that mean, huh? That he wants the cops to continually harass peaceful folks that don't agree with his beliefs? I figured that. Then he goes on to dredge up that garbage, "I 
am not ready to give up the war on drugs". What a nincompoop!Rep. Tony Cornish...Jackass of the week, No. 2.
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Comment #3 posted by MikeC on May 19, 2009 at 07:28:44 PT

The only way to go...
is the Constitutional Amendment. Let the people decide. How can one person overrule what over 70% of the people want?
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Comment #2 posted by George Servantes on May 19, 2009 at 05:14:05 PT

terminal patients only?
non lethal and non addictive herb only for terminal while non terminal people can take deadly and addictive drugs like oxycontin. 
we live in crazy times I guess, I would rather not change the bill and have that corrupted governor veto it.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 19, 2009 at 04:52:00 PT

Terminal Patients
This is really sad to restrict medical marijuana just to terminal patients. Terminal patients jump thru many hoops if they need help and they sure don't need to have to jump thru hoops for a kind medicinal herb. 
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