Robert Celt
New Member
For Wyoming medical marijuana advocates, turning a red state green is the goal.
Representatives from the local and statewide chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws were at Sheridan College Monday circulating a petition to put medical marijuana on the ballot in Wyoming.
Advocates for the legalization of medical marijuana say it will give people suffering or recovering from injuries a safer, healthier alternative to taking painkillers.
Efforts to put the Peggy A. Kelley Wyoming Cannabis Act of 2016 on the 2016 ballot failed, but medical marijuana advocates are determined to get it on the 2018 ballot.
Kelley was a Guernsey resident who after a battle with lung cancer in 2015. While she was suffering from cancer, Kelley lived longer than what her doctors projected and credited that to using cannabis.
The initiative would leave the issue of medical marijuana up to Wyoming voters.
Mona Mitzel, a Sheridan area advocate for medical marijuana, said she began supporting marijuana for medicinal purposes when her brother, a Vietnam War veteran, had shoulder replacement surgery.
"Medicinal marijuana helped him relax – you could see it in his face," Mitzel said.
So far, the petition has received 150 signatures from Sheridan residents. In order for the issue to make it onto the Wyoming ballot, it must receive 25,685 signatures, but advocates are hoping to get twice that number.
According to the group's website, Wyoming has the highest signature requirement of any states for ballot initiatives that begin with a petition. Fifteen precent of voters from the previous election cycle must sign a petition for it to make it onto the ballot.
Wyoming NORML Deputy Director Scott Sidman said he used medical marijuana after undergoing back surgery. Sidman said opioid pain medications are addictive and that he'd go back to taking over-the-counter medications before he took another opioid. He added that marijuana helped him get off of opioid pain medicines, which can adversely affect users when they discontinue using the medication.
The Wyoming Association of Sheriff's and Chiefs of Police has not taken a position on the effort, Executive Director Byron Oedekoven said. Instead, the organization has provided education material to schools and municipalities regarding marijuana abuse.
"Sheriffs and chiefs of police are welcome to take a position, but we haven't – and probably will not," Oedekoven said.
Sidman said he has talked to several law enforcement officers who support legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Some of the law enforcement officers Sidman has talked to would rather deal with people who have consumed cannabis than those drinking alcohol, he said.
Sheridan resident Phillip Smith was on hand Monday to sign the petition.
Smith said legalization of medical marijuana is an issue about which he feels strongly and that marijuana prohibition is antiquated.
"It's time to get out of the Stone Age," Phillips said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Advocates Circulate Petition In Sheridan, WY Area
Author: Zach Spadt
Contact: The Sheridan Press
Photo Credit: Liz Essley Whyte
Website: The Sheridan Press
Representatives from the local and statewide chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws were at Sheridan College Monday circulating a petition to put medical marijuana on the ballot in Wyoming.
Advocates for the legalization of medical marijuana say it will give people suffering or recovering from injuries a safer, healthier alternative to taking painkillers.
Efforts to put the Peggy A. Kelley Wyoming Cannabis Act of 2016 on the 2016 ballot failed, but medical marijuana advocates are determined to get it on the 2018 ballot.
Kelley was a Guernsey resident who after a battle with lung cancer in 2015. While she was suffering from cancer, Kelley lived longer than what her doctors projected and credited that to using cannabis.
The initiative would leave the issue of medical marijuana up to Wyoming voters.
Mona Mitzel, a Sheridan area advocate for medical marijuana, said she began supporting marijuana for medicinal purposes when her brother, a Vietnam War veteran, had shoulder replacement surgery.
"Medicinal marijuana helped him relax – you could see it in his face," Mitzel said.
So far, the petition has received 150 signatures from Sheridan residents. In order for the issue to make it onto the Wyoming ballot, it must receive 25,685 signatures, but advocates are hoping to get twice that number.
According to the group's website, Wyoming has the highest signature requirement of any states for ballot initiatives that begin with a petition. Fifteen precent of voters from the previous election cycle must sign a petition for it to make it onto the ballot.
Wyoming NORML Deputy Director Scott Sidman said he used medical marijuana after undergoing back surgery. Sidman said opioid pain medications are addictive and that he'd go back to taking over-the-counter medications before he took another opioid. He added that marijuana helped him get off of opioid pain medicines, which can adversely affect users when they discontinue using the medication.
The Wyoming Association of Sheriff's and Chiefs of Police has not taken a position on the effort, Executive Director Byron Oedekoven said. Instead, the organization has provided education material to schools and municipalities regarding marijuana abuse.
"Sheriffs and chiefs of police are welcome to take a position, but we haven't – and probably will not," Oedekoven said.
Sidman said he has talked to several law enforcement officers who support legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Some of the law enforcement officers Sidman has talked to would rather deal with people who have consumed cannabis than those drinking alcohol, he said.
Sheridan resident Phillip Smith was on hand Monday to sign the petition.
Smith said legalization of medical marijuana is an issue about which he feels strongly and that marijuana prohibition is antiquated.
"It's time to get out of the Stone Age," Phillips said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Advocates Circulate Petition In Sheridan, WY Area
Author: Zach Spadt
Contact: The Sheridan Press
Photo Credit: Liz Essley Whyte
Website: The Sheridan Press
