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JnEverett

Is 'pot' medicine or drug?
11-23-06 l South Bend Tribune l Alex Doty

LANSING -- Despite a lame duck Legislature, the House Government Operations Committee will meet Tuesday to discuss the possibility of legalizing medicinal marijuana.

State Rep. LaMar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, the sponsor, said with a lame duck session, there will be less opposition and it would be more likely to pass.

If there is no movement on the bill, he said it would likely be reintroduced next year in a Democratic-controlled House.

The proposal would allow the drug to be used only for specified conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, and chronic and debilitating diseases that produce severe pain, nausea, seizures or muscle spasms.

To get a prescription, a physician would have to certify that a patient's need for medical marijuana would outweigh any harmful effects of the drug.Lemmons said he doesn't think the government should impede a physician doing what is best for a patient.

Tim Beck, executive director of the Eastpointe-based Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said medical marijuana is less expensive and not as strong as prescription pain medication.

NORML has nine chapters in the state, including ones in Berrien, Macomb, Oakland and Tuscola counties, as well as a Southwest Michigan chapter.

Paul Armentano, a representative from NORML's national headquarters in Washington, D.C., said other legislatures across the country are dealing with the issue.

"They are beginning to catch up to the will of the people," he said.Alleged abuses in states that have legalized medicinal marijuana have been minimal, Armentano said.

"This is not something new where we have to guess what will happen," he said. "We have real-world experience."

The Drug Enforcement Administration has a different view on the value of marijuana as medicine.

The agency said the Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved smoking marijuana for any condition or disease.

In addition, it said the American Medical Association hasn't supported legalization of medicinal marijuana. The association wants to keep the prohibition until more research is performed.But Armentano said, "The therapeutic value of marijuana has been greatly studied in the past 10 to 12 years, more than in any other time in history."

Beck said critics don't know what it's like to suffer from a condition which marijuana could help relieve, and said they should walk a mile in the shoes of those with such ailments.

"We think people should have a choice and they should be able to get the medication that their bodies need," Beck said.

 

nornerator

Email your reps michigan Voters! Please this could be one big leap out of nowhere... atleast I didn't see this coming.

after it passes we just have to worry about Jenny Veto'ing it...