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A Little Heard-of Public Hearing
Medical marijuana bill misses the news
Doug Hissom | Shepherd Express | 12/04/2005

In the conservative climate of the state Capitol it certainly is a rare day when legalizing marijuana for medical purposes gets a public hearing. But it did, for a bill sponsored by Republican Gregg Underheim of Oshkosh that would make Wisconsin the 11th state to permit the seriously ill to use marijuana with a doctor’s advice. A statewide poll in July found 75.7% of respondents supported the measure.

Since the public hearing received absolutely no media coverage in these parts, here are some highlights.

• Thomas Rayson, a doctor from St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, explained that marijuana can help chemotherapy patients take care of the nausea and vomiting from radiation and also helps the terminally ill.

“It is simply cruel and irrational to criminalize individuals for using potentially life-saving treatment” if prescribed by physicians, Rayson said. “It is out of ignorance and fear that this medication is not offered.”

• Mitch Earlywine, a psychology professor at New York State University in Albany and author of a marijuana usage book, said legalizing medical marijuana does not increase recreational use, which he acknowledged may have been a concern to members of the Assembly health committee. He also said synthetic marijuana pills are problematic, since people with nausea and vomiting have trouble swallowing them.

• Gina Dennik-Champion, executive director of the Wisconsin Nurses Association, said marijuana can benefit those undergoing chemo, as well as those with glaucoma or AIDS. “Marijuana should be able to be used as a possible option for patients when conventional medications do not work or have negative side effects,” she said.

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PotShot

No wonder it has no coverage. Docters are only given a voice if they denounce "smoked-marijuana" as medicine. Otherwise the docters themselves are denounced as "liberal quacks."

At any rate, hopefully the will of the people will be considered here and Wisconsin will add weight to a national debate over medical cannabis.

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