Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Colorado - The first official bill to regulate medical marijuana in Colorado will come before the legislature today, its sponsor said, as cannabis advocates on Thursday took different tacks in fighting for their cause.
The bill, from state Sen. Chris Romer, would create stricter requirements for the relationship between patients seeking marijuana and the doctors recommending it to them.
The bill would bar marijuana providers from paying doctors who recommend pot to patients, would require marijuana-recommending doctors to be in good standing with no restrictions on their medical licenses and would require the doctor and patient to have a "bona fide" relationship in which the doctor provides the patient a full examination and follow-up care. The bill also would create a special review board to scrutinize the applications of patients under age 21.
Romer said he expects the bill to have bipartisan support at the Capitol.
"There's about as much consensus as you're ever going to get on this subject," said Romer, D-Denver.
Brian Vicente, executive director of the medical-marijuana patient-advocacy group Sensible Colorado, said he supports a number of items in the bill but opposes the under-21 review board. He said young patients shouldn't have to go to extra lengths to get medicine and that the average age of medical-marijuana patients in the state is 40.
"Romer's review board is a solution in search of a problem," Vicente said.
Still, the bill, which is supported by the state health department, is likely to be the least controversial medical-marijuana measure at the Capitol this session. State Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, is expected later in the session to introduce a more hotly debated bill — backed by law enforcement and loathed by medical-marijuana advocates — that would limit the number of patients a marijuana provider could serve to five and effectively outlaw retail marijuana dispensaries.
Cannabis advocates blasted such a plan Thursday but took different paths to doing so. About 200 marijuana activists gathered across the street from the Capitol for a rally and had sharp words for lawmakers.
"Keep your grubby hands off of medical marijuana!" activist Robert Chase shouted toward the Capitol.
Medical-marijuana attorney Rob Corry said activists deserve to be involved in negotiations on the proposal but said they are not inclined to compromise.
"(Medical marijuana) is in the constitution," he said. "It is a fundamental civil right. The legislature can't touch it."
Conspicuously absent from the rally, though, were a number of prominent medical-marijuana groups, which on Thursday announced they have formed a new coalition to push for "the middle ground in the debate," according to a news release. Matt Brown, a co-chair of the group, said members are committed to working with lawmakers on reasonable dispensary regulations.
"There's no other industry without regulation," Brown said. "We're better off getting ahead of it than trying to litigate it for years."
From left, Louis Tubbesing, Anthony Roantes and George Garcia are among the 200 people who voiced their support for medical marijuana on Thursday near the Capitol. They oppose legislation that would impose limits on medical pot and its providers. (DENVER POST | MATT MCCLAIN)
NewsHawk: User: 420 Magazine
Source: denverpost.com
Author: John Ingold and Jessica Fender
Copyright: 2010 The Denver Post
Contact: Contact Us - The Denver Post
Website: Legislators await first bill to regulate medical marijuana - The Denver Post
The bill, from state Sen. Chris Romer, would create stricter requirements for the relationship between patients seeking marijuana and the doctors recommending it to them.
The bill would bar marijuana providers from paying doctors who recommend pot to patients, would require marijuana-recommending doctors to be in good standing with no restrictions on their medical licenses and would require the doctor and patient to have a "bona fide" relationship in which the doctor provides the patient a full examination and follow-up care. The bill also would create a special review board to scrutinize the applications of patients under age 21.
Romer said he expects the bill to have bipartisan support at the Capitol.
"There's about as much consensus as you're ever going to get on this subject," said Romer, D-Denver.
Brian Vicente, executive director of the medical-marijuana patient-advocacy group Sensible Colorado, said he supports a number of items in the bill but opposes the under-21 review board. He said young patients shouldn't have to go to extra lengths to get medicine and that the average age of medical-marijuana patients in the state is 40.
"Romer's review board is a solution in search of a problem," Vicente said.
Still, the bill, which is supported by the state health department, is likely to be the least controversial medical-marijuana measure at the Capitol this session. State Rep. Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, is expected later in the session to introduce a more hotly debated bill — backed by law enforcement and loathed by medical-marijuana advocates — that would limit the number of patients a marijuana provider could serve to five and effectively outlaw retail marijuana dispensaries.
Cannabis advocates blasted such a plan Thursday but took different paths to doing so. About 200 marijuana activists gathered across the street from the Capitol for a rally and had sharp words for lawmakers.
"Keep your grubby hands off of medical marijuana!" activist Robert Chase shouted toward the Capitol.
Medical-marijuana attorney Rob Corry said activists deserve to be involved in negotiations on the proposal but said they are not inclined to compromise.
"(Medical marijuana) is in the constitution," he said. "It is a fundamental civil right. The legislature can't touch it."
Conspicuously absent from the rally, though, were a number of prominent medical-marijuana groups, which on Thursday announced they have formed a new coalition to push for "the middle ground in the debate," according to a news release. Matt Brown, a co-chair of the group, said members are committed to working with lawmakers on reasonable dispensary regulations.
"There's no other industry without regulation," Brown said. "We're better off getting ahead of it than trying to litigate it for years."
From left, Louis Tubbesing, Anthony Roantes and George Garcia are among the 200 people who voiced their support for medical marijuana on Thursday near the Capitol. They oppose legislation that would impose limits on medical pot and its providers. (DENVER POST | MATT MCCLAIN)
NewsHawk: User: 420 Magazine
Source: denverpost.com
Author: John Ingold and Jessica Fender
Copyright: 2010 The Denver Post
Contact: Contact Us - The Denver Post
Website: Legislators await first bill to regulate medical marijuana - The Denver Post
