Pubdate: Sun, 09 Jun 2013
Source: Kenosha News (WI)
Copyright: 2013 Kenosha News
Contact:  http://www.kenoshanews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2129
Author: Melinda Tichelaar

MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE HEATS UP

Gary Storck considers medical marijuana a lifesaver. The Dane County
man has been smoking it for medical problems since Oct. 3, 1972, when
he was 17 years old.

"I smoked some cannabis before seeing my eye doctor. He checked my
pressures and they were normal that day," he said.

Storck, 58, has glaucoma, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder
and has also had heart surgery. He uses a vaporizer to heat up
marijuana until its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC,
is released into the steam.

He said THC helps him manage his symptoms much better than
prescription drugs would - and offers his recent experience with heart
surgery as proof.

"Even though they did a super job on me - I had the best surgeon I
could have - I awoke with a breathing tube and my hands were tied," he
said. "I was throwing up from the opiates. I had to ask for stuff that
hurt me, but if I could have just had a few puffs of cannabis, it
would have been better for me and easier for doctors. I would have
been eating sooner. I could have been out of there sooner."

Nationally, support for both medical marijuana and recreational
marijuana is growing, with support for medical marijuana over 70
percent. Colorado and Washington state have recently legalized
recreational use, and the National Organization for Reform of
Marijuana Laws said medical marijuana is legal in 18 states and the
District of Columbia. But here in Wisconsin, medical marijuana
legislation has been considered and rejected repeatedly.

"Unfortunately in this legislature, [a medical marijuana bill is] not
going to do much more than educate people," Storck said. "Wisconsin's
lawmakers have been disconnected from public opinion on medical
cannabis for quite some time."

State Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Kenosha, said he would be willing to support
medical marijuana legislation if the law was carefully written and
strictly enforced. Wirch does not want to see Wisconsin overrun by
California-style "pot card" holders, who seem to be able to get
approval to use medical marijuana with only cursory
examinations.

"The only way that I would consider medical marijuana would be if it
was under extremely strict safeguards for people in constant pain,"
Wirch said. "There are people out there who have horrible pain issues
and who are looking for some type of relief. That is the only role
that the legislature should have on that issue."

State Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, said that he thinks it's only a
matter of time before medical marijuana is legalized here.

"If we can get this to be very limited to controlled medical uses then
I think you're going to see that in the state of Wisconsin," Lehman
said.

Last year, Colorado and Washington state legalized recreational
marijuana, but that is something Wirch and Lehman said they would not
support. Prescriptions vs. pot

The Wisconsin Medical Society does not support medical marijuana
because members feel there is no way to control the dose.

"With herbal marijuana, the delivery system is such that how much you
deliver to your brain depends on inhalation technique as well as
strength of the marijuana," said Dr. Michael Miller, vice speaker of
the Medical Society.

Miller, who is also the medical director of the Herrington Recovery
Center at Rogers Memorial Hospital in Oconomowoc and the past
president of the American Society of Addiction, said that new
medicines need to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, not by popular vote or legislation.

"Cannabinoids have an important role to play in health care, but most
medical marijuana laws come up through a ballot initiative or piece of
legislation. The conditions for which it's approved are not put
together by medical personnel," he said.

Kenosha Police Chief John Morrissey said there's no reason to support
medical marijuana dispensaries, since patients can already get
cannabinoid prescriptions from doctors, if necessary.

"There are prescriptions out there that contain THC that you can
already get legally. If you can already legally get these drugs - like
Marinol - they are regulated by the FDA and better controlled," he
said. Opposing arguments

The police chief, Miller and Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth also
all brought up an issue they feel is not often addressed: that a small
portion of pot smokers experience "psychotic" reactions.

"It's well known that marijuana use increases the likelhiood of
developing psychosis," said Miller. "A lot of recreational users find
that paranoid thoughts exhibit. Those psychotic symptoms can hit and
be intense and persist."

Morrissey and Beth said their men and women on the street have seen
these reactions firsthand.

"They're hallucinating. They're not thinking like a rational person
will. They are not following the commands the officer is giving them,"
Morrissey said. "It increases the chances of officers getting hurt or
witnesses getting hurt."

Miller said that medical marijuana laws send the wrong message to
kids.

"Kids look at medical marijuana laws, and, 'If it's being used for
medical reasons, it must be safe and therefore I can use it,'" Miller
said. "It is making it more likely that kids will experiment and use."

And Kenosha County Sheriff's Sgt. Ken Urquhart, who leads the Kenosha
Drug Operations Group, said he's concerned medical dispensaries would
be crime magnets.

"California is having huge issues. Robberies of marijuana
dispensaries. Growers are arming themselves to protect their crops.
Concessions that state made are not being followed. Emergency rooms
are dealing with more issues. It's not utopia there," Urquhart said.

Patients like Storck feel like these concerns could be adequately
addressed with well-written legislation. They are frustrated that
they're being denied safe access to something that makes them feel
better.

"Just because the legislature won't listen, doesn't mean we shouldn't
stop asking," Storck said. "Wisconsinites shouldn't have to think
about leaving the state to get the medicine they need or live a life
with dignity."
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MAP posted-by: Matt