Medical Marijuana Hearing Monday

By Frank Tankard

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Here's a letter lawrence.com received today from Laura Green of the Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition about a Kansas Senate hearing on the Medical Marijuana Defense Act. The hearing is on Monday.

To the Editor,

Whether or not you believe marijuana can be a beneficial medicine to some people, the fact is that thousands of Kansans are currently, or have, used marijuana as medicine for a serious or terminal illness. A shocking number of these people have been arrested – even though their physician approved of their use of the drug and they have no other criminal history.

Soon the Senate Health Care Strategies Committee chaired by Senator Wagle will hold a hearing on The Medical Marijuana Defense Act, SB 556. This bill would allow for a medical necessity defense for patients who use marijuana as medicine with their physician’s knowledge, supervision and recommendation for debilitating medical conditions – such as cancer and HIV/AIDS - and the treatment of these conditions which can cause nausea, pain, and wasting syndrome.

Let’s be clear about what this legislation would and would not do. This law would ONLY allow medical marijuana patients the right to show to a judge or jury written documentation from their primary physician that their possession of marijuana was for a medical reason. It would NOT legalize, decriminalize, or authorize the use of marijuana in any way, shape or form.

Currently under Kansas law, a person arrested for possession of marijuana who uses marijuana as medicine is not allowed to provide any evidence from their doctor in their defense. It simply can not be considered by the court.

Under this law, a person charged with possession of marijuana invoking the medical defense must have been seen by a doctor who completed a full assessment of the patient’s illness, and state the reason why they believe marijuana has been beneficial to the patient.

It is morally wrong to prosecute seriously ill people who have the support of their doctor in using marijuana for medical purposes. Please support SB 556 by calling your State Senator. Our serious and terminally ill deserve compassion, not politics as usual, when it comes to this important issue.

Laura A. Green

Director

Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition

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Posted by beatle919 (Marcy McGuffie) on February 7, 2008 at 2:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Seriously, it blows my mind that a seriously ill person, with their doctors support, is treated like a common criminal.

Thank you for the information.

Posted by wbabbit (Will Babbit) on February 7, 2008 at 3:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You guys realize we're still in KS, right? I know Lawrence FEELS like it's straight out of California (minus the weather), but we're still in Kansas, where this stuff will never change.

Posted by OnShakedown (Chris Tackett) on February 8, 2008 at 12:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

@wbabbit, i don't think anyone is forgetting where they are, but i suspect they think like me in that though things may not change in our lifetime, they may change someday and when do, i want to be able to say i was a part of the fight. And if i'm gone by that time, i want those that follow me to know i tried and even use me as an example to fight the tough fights even when victory seems far-fetched.

Posted by wbabbit (Will Babbit) on February 8, 2008 at 9:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)

More power to you, more power to you.

Medical Marijuana Hearing Monday

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