[420 Girl]

Minnesota legislators advanced a bill on Tuesday that would legalize treating patients who have debilitating conditions with medical marijuana, according to Minnesota Public Radio. The state’s Senate Health and Human Services Budget Division advanced the measure on a divided vote.

Last week, the Illinois House Human Services Committee advanced a similar legislation on a 4-3 vote.

In spite of both measures’ success, there are still large speed bumps standing in the way of either bill becoming law. The Illinois bill will go to the state’s house floor for deliberation.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawley stands in the way of his state’s bill. Pawley has said that he is against the legalization of medical marijuana.

The Illinois plan would be to allow those suffering from “debilitating conditions” such cancer or Crohn’s disease to posses small amounts of marijuana, reported the Chicago Tribune. Patients would be allowed to have seven dried cannabis plants and two ounces of dried usable cannabis in order to treat their conditions.

The measure in Minnesota has similar wording, with MPR reporting that “doctors could prescribe marijuana to qualified patients for the treatment of a debilitating medical condition.” Sen. Steve Murphy, the author of his state’s bill, explained that patients could either grow or purchase their own marijuana, but that the state itself would not test the plants for high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie), the sponsor of the legislation in Illinois, told the Tribune that he’d want to create a test program which would last a duration of three years. Patients would need registry identification cards to obtain the cannabis after they have received recommendation from a doctor.

David Jocson, statewide drug enforcement coordinator with the Illinois State Police is opposed to the bill. He told the Chicago Tribune that he is opposed to the bill because marijuana is not an FDA-approved medication and because allowing the medical use of cannabis would make it easier for others to obtain the drug illegally.

The new measures in Illinois and Minnesota come several months after Massachusetts and Michigan voters opted to legalize medical marijuana

OUR TAKE:

Personally, I have no doubt that medical marijuana can help those that need it. It seems that, for the most part, lawmakers in these states do not dispute these facts.

I feel that the real issue here is whether or not this will make obtaining marijuana illegally an easier task. But in my opinion, the positives for those in need of the drug far outweigh a few more people smoking pot illegally.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...marijuana.html