Minnesota medmj bill passes out of House committee
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 5:53 pm | By: Radical Russ
This just in from Chris DeLaForest of Minnesotans for Compassionate Care:
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA — Minnesota’s medical marijuana bill, H.F. 292, cleared its first hurdle in the House of Representatives today, passing the Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee in a vote of 9 to 6. The vote came after medical marijuana patients and others testified to the relief provided by medical marijuana when conventional treatments had failed.
“Before medical marijuana, I was in such pain I had no life,” said K.K. Forss of Ely, who suffers chronic, severe pain as a result of a ruptured disk in his neck and repeated surgeries on his neck and upper spine. “It was so horrible I wanted to die every day. No one should have to face a choice between suffering unbearably and risking arrest and jail.”
Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL-Virginia), sponsor of the bill, hailed the vote, saying, “Today’s vote is an important step toward protecting seriously ill Minnesotans. The evidence is clear that medical marijuana can help some patients who suffer terribly, and it’s time to protect these patients from arrest and jail.”
“This sensible, humane, bipartisan bill is modeled after laws that have been working well for years in states like Montana and Rhode Island,” said Rep. Mark Buesgens (R-Jordan). “We should not be using our scarce law enforcement dollars to arrest suffering patients for using a medicine their doctor has recommended.”
Thirteen states, comprising approximately one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law if a physician has recommended it. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-setting 63 percent “yes” vote. Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana’s medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted “marijuana’s proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity,” in a statement issued last year.
I’d only quibble that Washington DC’s medical marijuana law passed with a record 69% vote, but they are prevented from implementing the law by the Barr Amendment.
Topics: Chris DeLaForest, Minnesota, MinnesotaCares.org, MN HF292
