Pubdate: Thu, 26 Mar 2015
Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC)
Copyright: 2015 The News and Observer Publishing Company
Contact: http://www.newsobserver.com/about/newsroom/editor/
Website: http://www.newsobserver.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304
Author: Colin Campbell

NC HOUSE PANEL REJECTS PROPOSAL FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A state House committee unanimously rejected a proposal to legalize 
medical marijuana after an emotional hourlong hearing that ended with a 
legislator saying he was assaulted by a marijuana advocate.

House Bill 78 marks the most progress any marijuana proposal has had in 
the N.C. General Assembly. Two years ago, a similar bill was directed to 
the House Rules Committee, where Republican leaders allowed four people 
to speak before cutting off discussion and killing the bill.

Wednesday's hearing took place in the more prominent House Judiciary I 
Committee, and more than a dozen people spoke about the proposal in a 
packed meeting room. "For those in the room speaking today, this is huge 
- - that you're even here allowed to speak before the Judiciary I 
Committee," said Rep. Becky Carney, a Charlotte Democrat who 
co-sponsored the bill. "That's a big step. It's not a defeat."

Other supporters of medical marijuana didn't see the result that way. 
Some vowed to move to another state, and one man was detained by police 
after Rep. Dean Arp said he was struck in the back. Arp declined to 
press charges, and the man was released after writing an apology letter.

"We can't hit folks during civil discourse," said Arp, a Monroe 
Republican who made the motion to reject the marijuana bill. "This is 
the first time I've ever been struck. I was very shocked by it."

But Arp said he's putting the incident behind him. "I have accepted his 
apology," he said.

Before the vote, medical marijuana users pleaded with House members to 
make it legal. Some were military veterans, and some were members of a 
group called Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.

"If we know that cannabis treats the brain's injury, how in God's name 
can we not let the veterans have it?" said Perry Parks, a military 
veteran who uses marijuana for pain relief. "It is immoral to deny 
veterans the ability to take this medication."

The House proposal would only make the drug legal for patients with a 
"chronic, debilitating medical condition." But opponents of the bill 
said it could pave the way for widespread legalization, turning North 
Carolina into Colorado, where the drug is sold in stores.

"Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes is both unnecessary and a 
slippery slope," said Tami Fitzgerald of the conservative N.C. Values 
Coalition. "It could open the door to legalizing marijuana for 
recreational use, which we do not want in this state."

The Christian Action League of North Carolina and the N.C. Family Policy 
Council also spoke against the bill.

The bill was sponsored by Democrats, but neither of the two Democrats on 
the committee - Reps. Grier Martin and Darren Jackson of Wake County - 
voted for it Wednesday.

Supporters of medical marijuana say they'll now lobby for another 
proposal, House Bill 317, which legalizes marijuana use for terminally 
ill patients in hospice care. That bill has the same sponsors and has 
also been referred to the Judiciary I Committee.
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