Pubdate: Sat, 26 Apr 2014
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Copyright: 2014 Star Tribune
Contact: http://www.startribunecompany.com/143
Website: http://www.startribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266
Author: Patrick Condon
Page: B3

MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL RISES FROM THE ASHES

Stalled Proposal Is Suddenly on a Fast Track After Languishing for 
Weeks at the Capitol.

The proposal to legalize medical marijuana rose from political limbo 
at the Capitol on Friday, putting a controversial issue on a sudden 
fast track in the Minnesota Senate.

In a 7-3 bipartisan vote, legislators moved to pass a bill that would 
allow doctor-monitored access to marijuana for patients diagnosed 
with cancer and other maladies. The panel vote gives new life to a 
bill that's been stalled for nearly a month and which still faces 
opposition from Gov. Mark Dayton.

"This is a really solid, responsible bill," said Sen. Scott Dibble, 
DFL-Minneapolis, sponsor of the proposal that would allow up to 55 
medical marijuana shops throughout Minnesota. "Public opinion is 
shifting on this issue, and I believe legislative support is shifting 
in our favor."

After languishing for most of the session, the proposal now is 
scheduled to go through two more committees by Tuesday. A companion 
bill in the House cleared one committee in March, but has stalled 
since then. Even Dibble, buoyed by Friday's vote, held back from 
promising the bill could come to a full floor vote before the 
legislative session ends next month.

Opponents remained firm, saying there is too little scientific 
evidence about the curative powers of marijuana.

"This is premature," said Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, one of two 
Republicans and one Democrat on the Senate Health and Human Services 
Committee to vote against the bill. "We do not know what would be 
effective. We don't even know what a consistent dose is. This is the 
Wild West of medicine."

Twenty states and the District of Columbia allow some legal access to 
marijuana for medicinal uses.

Dibble's proposal would have the plants professionally grown and the 
product distributed under strict oversight by the Minnesota 
Department of Health. A medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy would 
have to issue a prescription and only for 2.5 ounces at a time. The 
bill would not, as some earlier bills did, allow patients to grow and 
harvest their own marijuana.

The drug would be distributed at what the bill calls "alternative 
treatment centers." Dibble said supporters decided against the more 
common term "dispensary," because they believe it has negative 
connotations from states where medical marijuana is more loosely 
regulated. The centers would be sprinkled across the state, guided by 
population. Hennepin County could get three, while Ramsey, Dakota, 
Anoka and St. Louis counties would each get two. Another 44 counties, 
including the rest of the metro area, would each have one. The 
remaining 38 counties, all with populations below 20,000, would get none.

Eligible medical conditions would include cancer, AIDS and HIV, 
glaucoma, hepatitis C, Tourette's syndrome, ALS (Lou Gehrig's 
Disease), posttraumatic stress disorder, illnesses that cause severe, 
chronic pain or severe nausea, diseases like multiple sclerosis that 
cause muscle spasms, and forms of epilepsy that produce serious and 
frequent seizures.

The Senate proposal would allow patients to smoke their marijuana, 
although they would be subject to all the restrictions of the state's 
indoor smoking ban. The House bill would allow medical marijuana to 
be administered only through injection or orally.

Supporters have struggled to win over Dayton, who says he sympathizes 
with the plight of patients but is unwilling to ignore the concerns 
of law enforcement and much of the medical community. His own health 
commissioner has testified against legalization, saying there is 
insufficient evidence of consistent results.

The governor has instead called for state-funded research into 
medical marijuana at the Mayo Clinic. Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, 
on Friday offered an amendment that would have replaced Dibble's bill 
with such a research study. The committee rejected it 7-3.

Sue Sisley, a psychiatrist and researcher at the University of 
Arizona - a state where medical marijuana is legal - said government 
research into medical marijuana has been hampered by federal laws 
that define the drug as an illegal narcotic. She called the federal 
hurdles "brutal" and said "the notion that this study could be 
implemented in the next few years is fantasy."

Voting against the bill on the Senate health committee were Nelson, 
Rosen and Sen. Chris Eaton, DFL-Brooklyn Center. Backing the bill 
were DFL Sens. Kathy Sheran of Mankato, Jeff Hayden of Minneapolis, 
John Marty of Roseville, Melissa Wiklund of Bloomington, John Hoffman 
of Champlin and Tony Lourey of Kerrick, along with Republican 
Michelle Benson of Ham Lake. Benson is also a GOP candidate for 
lieutenant governor this year.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom