Pubdate: Fri, 13 Mar 2009
Source: Le Mars Daily Sentinel (IA)
Copyright: 2009 Le Mars Daily Sentinel
Contact:  http://www.lemarssentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4888
Author: Amy Erickson
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

ATTEMPT TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA FOR MEDICAL USE FAILS AGAIN

Iowa Will Not Be Joining 13 Other States That Allow Using Marijuana 
For Medical Purposes.

A bill that dealt with that was taken off the table Tuesday.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, who filed Senate File  293 last week, 
pulled the bill during a subcommittee  meeting, the first step any 
bill must pass through.

"He realized there were some flaws to it and he wanted  to relook at 
it," said Sen. Randy Feenstra. "He may  come back with it next year."

One of the problems with Bolkcom's bill was that it  stated a 
"practitioner could prescribe it and the  person could grow it, 
distribute it, and use it,"  Feenstra said.

He said the word "practitioner" was ambiguous as it  didn't identify 
whether that was a doctor or someone  else.

"There were some big, gaping loopholes in this bill,"  Feenstra said.

Bolkcom did not return a call to the Daily Sentinel  seeking 
information as to his initial support of the  bill.

This year was not the first time a bill to legalize  marijuana for 
medical purposes in Iowa came before  legislators.

In the 1993 legislative session another such bill  passed the Senate 
with a 50-0 vote, but was not picked  up by the House, Feenstra said.

"That bill was substantially different than the one  they talked 
about yesterday (Monday)," he said. "The  difference was it needed to 
be FDA certified marijuana.  It needed to be prescribed by a 
physician, and it had  to go through the pharmacy."

Feenstra said the reason the Senate passed the bill in  1993 to 
legalize marijuana for medical purposes was  because a federal study 
completed by the Food and Drug  Administration (FDA) clarified 
marijuana as a drug that  could relieve pain.

The 1993 attempt was the last bill until this year,  said Feenstra, 
who opposes legalizing marijuana for  medical purposes.

"I'm just against it because I think we already have  other drugs 
that doctors can prescribe," he said. "I  don't think we need to 
prescribe marijuana at this  point."

Bolkcom's now dead legislative bill focused on making  marijuana a 
legal treatment for certain debilitating  medical conditions such as 
Alzheimer's disease, cancer  and those that cause severe pain, severe 
nausea and  certain seizures.

A search of the Internet revealed thousands of websites  where 
advocates favor legalizing marijuana for medical  purposes because 
research has indicated the drug does  help with those conditions and 
many others.

Liz Kurth, a registered nurse and oncology certified  nurse and 
oncology coordinator at Floyd Valley Hospital  in Le Mars, said there 
are better drugs on the market  today that are very effective in 
treating conditions  like severe nausea in chemotherapy patients.

"In my opinion the drugs we have such as Zofran and  Kytril, they do 
a wonderful job of controlling nausea,"  Kurth said. "I don't see 
great strides in using  marijuana. I think it's almost going backward."

Kurth said has treated a couple patients who moved to  Iowa from 
other states where they had used Marinol, the  synthetic form of 
marijuana, to treat their nausea  related to chemotherapy.

"They said it didn't really help for long-term use,"  Kurth said.

Others including Rep. Chuck Soderberg, of Le Mars, are  also against 
legalizing marijuana for medical purposes  for a variety of reasons.

Plymouth County Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo and Le Mars  Police Chief 
Stu Dekkenga have similar views.

"It's going to get into the hands of people who don't  need it," Van 
Otterloo said. "I think it would make it  even easier for marijuana 
possession."

Dekkenga said legalizing marijuana would create a host  of problems.

For example, it would be difficult to determine who  would be 
eligible and who would be the source of that  marijuana. Insurance 
companies would have to rewrite  their insurance policies and new 
laws would have to be  written, Dekkenga said.

"In a time in history where our society boasts we have  a drug that 
will cure almost anything, where does  smoking marijuana come into 
that?" Dekkenga asked. "I  think it's a political thing. People have 
been  self-medicating with marijuana for years. They just  want to do 
it without getting caught."

Dekkenga said there are bigger issues in Iowa than  legalizing 
marijuana to worry about like the economy  and people losing their jobs.

"I wish our legislators would worry about the issues at  hand instead 
of worrying about where people are going  to get their pot," Dekkenga 
said. "I don't see the  purpose of legalizing it."

Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana,  Michigan, 
Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode  Island and Washington 
have laws legalizing marijuana  for medical purposes.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom