Wisconsin: Sides Square Off Over Medical Marijuana

By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. A Republican opponent to allowing medical marijuana in Wisconsin accused Democratic backers Tuesday of using chronically ill patients to push a secret agenda of making pot legal for everyone.

Rep. Leah Vukmir's claim at a public hearing drew boos and other derisive comments from many in the room packed with sick people in wheelchairs or walking with the assistance of canes. Supporters say marijuana helps patients deal with diseases, cancer treatments and other ailments by relieving them of pain and nausea.

Vukmir said there was no medical reasons to use marijuana and that other pain relief measures should be pursued that "do not require individuals to light a joint." She said once marijuana is legalized for medical uses, momentum will grow to make it available to everyone, as has happened elsewhere.

"What I resent most is this facade you are putting forth, using people who are dying of cancer and have other diseases, as your shield," she said to the bill's Democratic co-sponsors who vehemently denied her claims.

"I would never advocate for this if I thought that's what would happen," said co-sponsor Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee. "Do you honestly think I want to legalize marijuana for everyone in Wisconsin? You don't even know me."

Under the bill, a doctor's recommendation would be required and the marijuana could only be dispensed to treat certain debilitating diseases including cancer, AIDS, Hepatitis C, Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Jacki Rickert of Mondovi, Wis., suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and reflexive sympathetic dystrophy, bone and joint diseases that limit movement and lead to painful muscle spasms. Sitting in a wheelchair, she gave emotional testimony to the committee in favor of legalizing marijuana describing the pain she's dealt with all her life, including dropping to 68 pounds at one point.

Rickert, 58, said she and others were asking for treatment to make her feel better.

"We're real people and they have real problems," Rickert said in response to Vukmir. "This isn't any backdoor attempt. We all came in through the front door."

Supporters of legalizing medical marijuana feel like the time is right, given that 13 other states have already approved it and Gov. Jim Doyle has said he thinks it should be available to those who have a doctor's prescription.

Backers also say the tide is turning in support of medical marijuana given the American Medical Association's call last month for a federal review of marijuana's status as a controlled substance. Doing that will clear the way to do more research that could lead to the development of marijuana-based medicines.

The Obama administration, in a clear break from the Bush administration, also has decided not to prosecute users and suppliers of medical marijuana in the states where it's been legalized.

Despite the growing popularity of legalizing medical marijuana both in the state and across the country, it's not an effective pain killer and smoking it causes other health problems, said Dr. Michael Miller, who was representing the Wisconsin Medical Society.

The Medical Society opposes it for a number of reasons, including because legalizing marijuana at the state level bypasses the Food and Drug Administration process for approving new drugs, Miller said.

Under the Wisconsin bill, those who qualify could grow up to 12 plants at home or obtain up to three ounces from state-licensed nonprofit locations.

Legal marijuana users would still be prohibited from driving a car or operating heavy machinery. They would also not be allowed to smoke marijuana at work, on a bus, on school grounds, or a number of other public places including parks and beaches.

The restrictions and limits outlined in Wisconsin's proposal would make it the most responsible and comprehensive medical marijuana law in the country, said Daniel Abrahamson, legal director of the New York-based Drug Police Alliance Network.

Bill backers stressed that the chronically ill and those suffering shouldn't be forced to break the law to buy pot.

"For some people in this state marijuana is the quickest, cleanest way to ease their pain," Erpenbach said. "I don't know how you can look them in the eye and say, 'No.'"

Gary Storck, who said he starting using marijuana in 1972 to treat his glaucoma and other chronic conditions, called it a "godsend."

"I'm a living medical miracle," he said. "Why should I be a criminal?"

Related: Lawmakers clash over medical marijuana
http://www.wrn.com/2009/12/lawmakers-clash-over-medical-marijuana/


Source: http://wcco.com/wireapnewswi/Wis.medical.marijuana.2.1370300.html