[420 Girl]

North Carolina could be added to the list of states with legalized medical marijuana. It’s already legal in 13 other states. One lawmaker says it’s something North Carolinians should be able to take advantage of.

State Rep Earl Jones of Guilford County introduced the Medical Marijuana Act. He says the bill would help the seriously ill.

But opponents say there are already enough drugs on the market to treat pain without creating problems for others. Under the bill patients suffering from certain chronic ailments would be able to use marijuana to treat debilitating illness or disease. Already in the past decade, drugs like Marinol—known as the pot pill—is a synthetic alternative federal drug agencies say is as effective as marijuana.

“We use it for people that are HIV positive and also people who have cancer,” said Edwards Pharmacy owner Horace Tripp. But Tripp says it has a price tag of $900 for a one month supply.

Tripp says it’s one of many drugs already on the market good enough to treat pain. “I’m not saying it would hurt my business,” Tripp said. “It might be detrimental to society…might lead to harder drugs down the road.“

The bill says patients would have to go to a licensed dispensary in order to get the drug. Those who qualify would have to keep a registry identification card with them at all times. And must have written certification to ensure the marijuana is necessary

The bill’s sponsor says 99 out of every 100 marijuana arrests are made under state law, rather than federal law; and a change to the state law would protect the seriously ill from civil and criminal charges.

Tripp goes on to say, marijuana in it’s true form would save patients money compared to the cost of synthetic drugs. Ironically, while medical marijuana can’t be legally distributed to patients in our state. Medical marijuana is processed and distributed by the Research Triangle Institute here in North Carolina.


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