Robert Celt
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A group called New Approach Missouri is about to start collecting signatures on an initiative petition to legalize medical marijuana. On Tuesday, the Missouri Sheriffs Association made its stance against the measure known.
New Approach Missouri wants to create a regulated medical marijuana program in which doctors can decide what's best for their patients. The state's sheriffs believe it would just cause more problems, however.
A medical marijuana dispensary just opened up on the other side of Missouri's border, in Illinois. New Approach Missouri would like to see something similar here, to provide medical marijuana to patients with a variety of conditions.
"It runs everything from epilepsy to cancer to chronic debilitating issues where no other therapeutic has been effective," said Lee Winters, board president of New Approach Missouri.
The group's 13-page initiative petition was just approved by the Secretary of State's Office this month and will begin circulating next week.
"We've tried to look at the 23 existing states that already provide medical cannabis as a therapeutic to their patients and take the best practices from each of those states, and use that to make the most robust, complete, and safe program for the State of Missouri," said Winters.
The Missouri Sheriffs Association stands against this petition and any others that would try to legalize marijuana. The organization shared a news release that says, during its state conference in August, "the membership voted overwhelmingly to oppose any measure, either legislatively or ballot initiative, which would serve to make medical marijuana or recreational marijuana legal in the state of Missouri."
"Based on what we do, the information that we've received and some of the research that we've done, especially using Colorado as the test state, it has not gone well for law enforcement, the issues that have arisen from there. Driving while intoxicated, not necessarily alcohol, those arrests have gone up," said Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay.
While the initiative's supporters say every gram would be carefully tracked, DeLay and other sheriffs believe there are better alternatives.
"I have sympathy and empathy for those that are in pain, that are claiming that it does help them out. But the research that we have done is there really is no other benefit for the marijuana as opposed to what's already out there. There are medicines that do the same thing, the same kind of treatments that are legal right now, with the exception of just the THC content and adding that extra high," DeLay said.
New Approach Missouri next week plans to start trying to collect the 160,000 verified signatures of registered voters that it needs to get the measure on the November ballot.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Missouri Sheriffs Group Opposes Plan For Legal Medical Marijuana
Author: Linda Russell and Jerrod McCully
Photo Credit: Teresa Crawford
Website: KY3
New Approach Missouri wants to create a regulated medical marijuana program in which doctors can decide what's best for their patients. The state's sheriffs believe it would just cause more problems, however.
A medical marijuana dispensary just opened up on the other side of Missouri's border, in Illinois. New Approach Missouri would like to see something similar here, to provide medical marijuana to patients with a variety of conditions.
"It runs everything from epilepsy to cancer to chronic debilitating issues where no other therapeutic has been effective," said Lee Winters, board president of New Approach Missouri.
The group's 13-page initiative petition was just approved by the Secretary of State's Office this month and will begin circulating next week.
"We've tried to look at the 23 existing states that already provide medical cannabis as a therapeutic to their patients and take the best practices from each of those states, and use that to make the most robust, complete, and safe program for the State of Missouri," said Winters.
The Missouri Sheriffs Association stands against this petition and any others that would try to legalize marijuana. The organization shared a news release that says, during its state conference in August, "the membership voted overwhelmingly to oppose any measure, either legislatively or ballot initiative, which would serve to make medical marijuana or recreational marijuana legal in the state of Missouri."
"Based on what we do, the information that we've received and some of the research that we've done, especially using Colorado as the test state, it has not gone well for law enforcement, the issues that have arisen from there. Driving while intoxicated, not necessarily alcohol, those arrests have gone up," said Lawrence County Sheriff Brad DeLay.
While the initiative's supporters say every gram would be carefully tracked, DeLay and other sheriffs believe there are better alternatives.
"I have sympathy and empathy for those that are in pain, that are claiming that it does help them out. But the research that we have done is there really is no other benefit for the marijuana as opposed to what's already out there. There are medicines that do the same thing, the same kind of treatments that are legal right now, with the exception of just the THC content and adding that extra high," DeLay said.
New Approach Missouri next week plans to start trying to collect the 160,000 verified signatures of registered voters that it needs to get the measure on the November ballot.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Missouri Sheriffs Group Opposes Plan For Legal Medical Marijuana
Author: Linda Russell and Jerrod McCully
Photo Credit: Teresa Crawford
Website: KY3
