We were impressed last September by the people who spoke in favor of medical marijuana during an Iowa Pharmacy Board hearing in Mason City.

We were encouraged when that same board voted unanimously in February that marijuana has medicinal properties that could help Iowans the way it is helping people in 14 other states and the District of Columbia.

At last, we thought, a proven form of relief could soon be on the way for the many Iowans who could benefit from using marijuana to ease conditions caused by cancer and other diseases.

[continues 515 words]

The once bright future for medical marijuana is looking a lot hazier after a recent dispute between the Iowa Board of Pharmacy and the state's legislators.

Medical marijuana in Iowa had appeared to be heading toward legalization, but there have been major arguments lately on whether it is up to the state board or the Legislature to give the final go-head. Each party points to the other, and as they do so, the prospects of obtaining a prescription for medical marijuana seem to be further from reach.

[continues 438 words]

MUSCATINE, Iowa - If Iowa supporters of medical marijuana find a sympathetic ear in the Iowa Legislature, it will be because of lawmakers like Jeff Kaufmann.

Kaufmann, R-Wilton, who represents the 79th House District, together with legislative candidate Mark Lofgren of Muscatine, a fellow Republican who's running for the seat in the 80th District currently held by Nathan Reichert, D-Muscatine, attended a Saturday afternoon screening of the documentary film, "Waiting to Inhale," at the Musser Public Library.

Lofgren took notes but offered no public comments.

[continues 559 words]

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa lawmakers have called off plans to have a committee study the legalization of medical marijuana, saying such a decision could be made by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy noted Monday that an old state law says the board may set the rules, so there's no need for a committee. The Des Moines Democrat says the ball is in the board's court now

The pharmacy board in February recommended the Legislature change the classification of marijuana. It noted that a decades-old piece of Iowa law already appeared to allow that, but members said the intent of the law was unclear.

The board's executive director, Lloyd Jessen, said Monday that the board doesn't want that responsibility and needs direction from elected leaders.

[end]

Our Position: Lawmakers ducking responsibility on medical marijuana

After more than a year of study, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy in February unanimously recommended that the Legislature legalize marijuana for medical uses. The board also called for lawmakers to change the classification of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug.

In announcing its decision, the board noted that a decades-old piece of Iowa law already appeared to allow that, but members said the intent of the law was unclear.

[continues 373 words]

Patients, Doctors Groups Push for Medical Marijuana Research, Treatment

CEDAR FALLS - As a local blues musician's CD plays in the background, a man opens a baggie of marijuana and rolls a thin joint.

As he puffs, smoke wafts through the detatched garage behind his Cedar Falls home, and he visibly relaxes.

But the man - who wouldn't give his name for fear of prosecution for marijuana possession - wasn't looking to get high. Instead, he claims the marijuana relaxes his leg muscles, which have been stiff ever since a spinal cord injury left him in a wheelchair nearly three decades ago.

[continues 581 words]

From Sunset Park in Rock Island and Fejervary Park in Davenport, from bars, a convenience store and four houses in three cities, they dealt crack cocaine, police said.

Five men - siblings George and Soevier "Nose" Granderson, Bruce Pugh, Lee Govain and Russell Cowan - all now face heavy federal prison sentences for their drug dealing in Rock Island, Davenport and East Moline.

None was a stranger to police. At least two of them dealt for a decade or more.

The case is just one of 82 from Rock Island involving repeat-offender drug dealers or gun-toters prosecuted in federal court since 2006. Davenport police say at least 150 of their cases since 2005 resulted in federal convictions. Dozens more are pending or under investigation.

[continues 1252 words]

Professor Offers Pros and Cons About Medical Marijuana

It has become one of the most burning issues in the country, as far as legalization.

And Iowa is among the states debating benefits and drawbacks of medicinal marijuana.

Ronald Herman, associate professor and director of the Iowa Drug Information Network, was on hand Monday at the Marshalltown Noon Lions Club to give a presentation entitled "Medical Marijuana: Evaluation of the Evidence."

Because of his years of experience, he was asked by the The Iowa Board of Pharmacy to look into medical evidence associated with the use of marijuana.

[continues 640 words]

The process wasn't reckless.

The Iowa Pharmacy Board in 2008 declined to consider medical marijuana use, but relented when the American Civil Liberties filed a lawsuit requesting a public discussion. A state court judge said the pharmacy board must respond to the request for consideration. So the board held four public forums on the issue, drawing hundreds of comments and concerns.

Among them were legitimate concerns about how unregulated medicinal marijuana could show up in illicit drug trade.

But that wasn't the question before the board.

[continues 263 words]

The craze came to Quadsville after the Iowa Board of Pharmacy recommended Wednesday that the state legislature reclassify marijuana and appoint a task force to study medicinal uses of the drug.

That's good news for those suffering from cancer, glaucoma, AIDS and other conditions that could benefit from a prescribed toke, although legislative leaders have shown little interest in taking up the issue before they recess next month.

In a Quadsville daily poll, 71 percent of the 180 respondents were in favor of legalizing marijuana, not just for medical purposes, but for recreational use by anyone over age 18.

[continues 379 words]

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy's recommendation on Wednesday to simultaneously reclassify marijuana and create a body to oversee the possible legalization of the plant for medical use is commendable and realistic. Iowa legislators -- and other states -- should take note.

The board voted unanimously to recommend shifting marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to Schedule II -- a switch that would recognize the potential medical benefits and open the door for possible legalization. While the legislation needed to change the plant's categorization likely won't come until next year at the earliest, the decision is still a major victory for Iowans who tout the medical benefits of the drug.

[continues 402 words]

On Wednesday, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to recommend state lawmakers reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II. That could lead to Iowans legally using pot for medicinal purposes. The board also suggested establishing a task force to implement a medical marijuana program.

The recommendations came on the heels of the release of a Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, which found 64 percent of Iowans favor allowing people to use marijuana as medicine. Many Iowans think it makes sense to allow those suffering from AIDS, cancer or other debilitating conditions to have access to a drug that may alleviate symptoms.

[continues 425 words]

Officials from the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to recommend that the state Legislature legalize the use of medical marijuana on Wednesday.

The proposal would reduce marijuana from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule II, classifying the drug as presenting the potential for abuse but also having acceptable medical uses.

If the suggestion passes through the Legislature, the Board of Pharmacy would become the nation's first such organization to back medical marijuana use.

Lloyd Jessen, the director of Iowa's Board of Pharmacy, said because a state agency made the recommendations, a legalization bill cannot be filed until next year at the earliest.

[continues 404 words]

Area medical care givers and law enforcement are taking a wait-and-see approach to a recommendation to legalize marijuana for medical uses from a state board.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy unanimously voted Wednesday to ask the Legislature to take action to legalize the drug for medical use. It also called for lawmakers to change the classification of marijuana to a Schedule II drug, which includes substances such as Demerol, opium and morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's Web site.

[continues 245 words]

DES MOINES -- The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted Wednesday to recommend to state lawmakers they reclassify marijuana and set up a task force to study how to administer a medical marijuana program.

A total of 14 states have so far approved the use of marijuana for medical purposes, with New Jersey recently joining the list.

The board last year held a series of meetings around the state to garner public input and medical testimony on the issue.

The board, made up of pharmacists and private citizens, brought up a number of practical concerns about allowing medical marijuana. Those concerns included not being able to control dosages and the potential for abuse, as well as problems distributing it.

[continues 150 words]

Nearly two-thirds of Iowans think patients should be allowed to use marijuana as medicine if their doctors approve, a new Iowa Poll shows.

However, fewer than a third of Iowans want to make the drug legal for people who just want to get high, the poll shows.

Fourteen states have decided to allow medical uses of marijuana. The Iowa Board of Pharmacy plans to decide on Wednesday whether to recommend that the Iowa Legislature follow suit.

Supporters of the idea say marijuana can relieve pain and nausea for many patients suffering from debilitating diseases, including cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

[continues 813 words]

State regulators offered some hope Wednesday for people who want to use marijuana for medical purposes.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted unanimously to recommend legislators reclassify the drug in a way that could allow people to use it for pain, nausea and other symptoms from diseases such as cancer, AIDS or multiple sclerosis.

If that happened, Iowa would join 14 other states that have legalized medical marijuana. But Iowans should not expect legal marijuana shops to open soon.

Legislators probably will not consider the idea until at least next year.

[continues 795 words]

Pot and meth are on the minds of the law enforcement agencies tasked with fighting illegal drugs.

Chris Endress, director of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Enforcement Group, returned Friday from a week-long conference in Washington, D.C., where various agencies discussed drug-related issues facing law enforcement.

Top on the list was medical marijuana, Mr. Endress said. High-quality cannabis now legal in some states is making its way into states where it is illegal, including Illinois.

"We've seized hundreds of pounds of medical marijuana that's coming from California," Mr. Endress said. In 2009, about half of the Quad-Cities MEG busts were marijuana, and much of that was high-grade medicinal cannabis, he said.

[continues 504 words]

The Los Angeles City Council's vote last week to shut hundreds of so-called medical marijuana dispensaries was a welcome move, but the larger battle over pot has just begun.

Across the country, lawmakers and residents of cash-strapped states are edging ever closer to legalizing -- and taxing -- marijuana. In California, the first state in the nation to pass a medical marijuana law, backers of an initiative to legalize the drug expect to gather enough signatures to qualify the measure for the November ballot. And a Field Poll last year showed more than half of California voters would support such a move.

[continues 783 words]

The boyish young man in the khaki slacks and brown sweater looks Warren County Attorney Bryan Tingle straight in the eyes and declares that his constitutional rights are being squashed.

He tells Tingle from his seat in the courtroom that Iowa's legal system is treading on his freedom of religion, and on the freedom of science and medicine to explore treatment alternatives for the chronically and mentally ill.

With eyes gazing intently through his curly black hair, he tells Tingle that he's not afraid of going to prison. And there's a distinct possibility that, within a few weeks, he could land himself there for five years.

[continues 3518 words]