Pubdate: Thu, 27 Mar 2014
Source: Daily Tribune, The (MN)
Copyright: 2014 The Daily Tribune
Contact:  http://www.hibbingmn.com/placed/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2563
Author: Katie G. Nelson, Legislative Correspondent
Cited: Minnesotans for Compassionate Care http://www.mncares.org/

GOVERNOR URGED TO RETHINK MEDICINAL MARIJUANA BILL

ST. PAUL -- DFL Rep. Carly Melin of Hibbing and city resident Angie 
Weaver urged Gov. Mark Dayton to give seriously ill Minnesotans 
access to medicinal marijuana during a Wednesday afternoon press conference.

Melin made an impromptu speech during the meeting imploring the 
governor to rethink his stance about legalizing medical marijuana in 
Minnesota. Melin authored a bill to legalize medical marijuana but 
has received strong opposition from Dayton and lawmakers throughout 
the session.

"I know Gov. Dayton personally and he is a very compassionate 
person," said Melin while fighting back tears. "I think that he can 
change his mind and change his approach and we can get something done 
that is going to result in getting these families what they need."

Dayton has been under fire since Tuesday after making comments 
insinuating that medical marijuana advocates wanted to legalize 
cannabis in order to smoke it. Dayton later apologized for those comments.

"My comment yesterday, to which I referred to 'the advocates who want 
to legalize medical marijuana and be able to smoke marijuana plants 
and leaves...' was in no way intended to refer to victims of terrible 
diseases or their parents, who I was trying to help," Dayton said in 
a statement. "I regret that my words were unclear."

Advocates called Dayton's recent remarks "absolutely ridiculous" and 
"disgusting."

"The comments the governor has made after this meeting have been hard 
for us to hear. We have been accused of blocking research that would 
help hundreds of kids. We have been accused of nothing more than 
wanting to smoke marijuana recreationally," said Heather Azzi of 
Minnesotans for Compassionate Care.

Throughout this session, Dayton has opposed bills that fully legalize 
medical marijuana in Minnesota while remaining particularly 
hard-lined on allowing smokable forms of cannabis.

Dayton last week did propose a $2.2 million research study of CBD (a 
component of cannabis that doesn't have psychotropic properties) for 
children with epilepsy, but that compromise was rejected.

On Wednesday, advocates said that funding limited research studies 
for just a few hundred patients just wasn't enough.

"To me, I'm not going to have my daughter wait two to five more years 
to get medicine to get help when we know it's working other places," 
said Weaver, whose daughter suffers from a severe form of epilepsy. 
Weaver said she plans on moving from Hibbing to Colorado, where 
marijuana is legal, if Melin's bill doesn't pass this session

Jessica Hauser said she is facing a similar move with her family 
because of her child's medical condition. And though she was invited 
to Dayton's residence in early March to talk about legalizing medical 
marijuana, Hauser said several comments by Dayton indicated that he 
didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

Stating "the governor actually suggested that I should just find 
medical marijuana off the street," Hauser added, "To tell the truth, 
I was shocked and appalled that he would say that to me after hearing 
my son's story. Minnesotans with debilitating medical conditions and 
their families should not have to take on the added stress of 
breaking the law to get a medicine that could help them. They should 
not take a backseat to politics."

Dayton later responded to Hauser's claim stating, "I cannot, and I do 
not, advocate breaking the law. But as a father, I understand parents 
who would do anything possible to help their children."

For Weaver, who called Dayton's comments "offensive" and untrue, it 
seems as if the prospects of passing a bill are becoming dimmer with 
every trip she makes to the Capitol.

"I don't know what's going to happen," Weaver said. "Amelia's been 
having a very tough time, so it's been hard to maintain her health at 
home, family life and fight this fight as well. It's been exhausting 
lately, but we want to give it our all."

Melin said she was also giving her best effort to pass the medical 
marijuana bill, which is currently stalled in committees.

Melin's bill, which was recently modified to prohibit smoking or 
growing marijuana as well as adding seed and plant tracking systems, 
would legalize medical marijuana for patients with serious medical 
conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 
(ALS) and conditions causing seizures or intractable pain.

Melin said that hearing the stories of these families has taken an 
emotional toll on her but she's still confident that there are enough 
votes in the House and the Senate to pass her bill, if the governor 
backs it, too.

"We have tremendous amount of support from the Legislature," Melin said.

Rep. Andrea Kieffer, R-Woodbury, voiced similar opinions during the 
press conference while also pressing Dayton to rethink his stance.

"I think the votes are here and politically speaking, Gov. Dayton can 
do whatever he wants. I think this is a political thing and I think 
he's afraid to take this stance publicly," she said.

Responding to the Wednesday afternoon press conference, Dayton said, 
"If advocates agree to the compromise solution my administration has 
proposed -- which I believe would provide their children with the 
medication and relief they need as quickly as possible -- then 
something can be accomplished on this issue this session."

Dayton's proposal would fund a $2.2 million clinical trial that would 
allow about 200 children to have access to CBD. The trial would take 
between six and eight months before beginning and would last between 
three and five years. Some children would be placed on a placebo drug 
during the trial.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom