The Montana Republican Party is on record supporting repeal of the federal health care reform bill enacted by Congress in March - but took a slightly different tack on Montana's medical marijuana program, saying the Legislature should "amend or repeal" it next year.
Delegates at the party's platform convention, which met over the weekend in Billings, voted Saturday to adopt a proposed plank that says the Montana Republican Party supports repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, "commonly known as Obamacare."
The proposal came with a unanimous recommendation from the platform's Human Services Committee, made Friday.
Committee members said a majority of the public supports repealing the federal health reform bill, and that it goes against party principles like limited government and individual freedom. Only Congress can repeal the bill.
On medical marijuana, the full platform convention on Saturday rejected a proposal to give Montanans a chance to "revote" on the 2004 initiative that enacted medical marijuana in the state.
Instead, delegates decided to adopt a proposal from state Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor, to say the party supports having the 2011 Legislature "amend or repeal" Montana's medical marijuana act.
Montana's medical marijuana program has come under fire the past year as thousands of people have been approved for medical marijuana cards, sometimes at traveling clinics that see and approve scores of patients a day.
Shockley, a frequent critic of the state's medical marijuana program, said it's not what voters expected when they approved the 2004 initiative, and that the Legislature is to best place to address the program's multiple problems.
"We know it was wrong," he said of the program. "We know the people didn't know what they were voting for, and it's our job to correct it."
Having a "revote" on the issue by the public is a "terrible idea," Shockley said, and simply delays addressing the program's problems.
Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings, who proposed having the public vote again on the issue, argued that the Legislature already tried to address some medical marijuana issues in 2009, but that partisan votes blocked any substantive change.
"I don't think it will be any different at the next (Legislature)," he said. "So the best thing to do is just put it back to the people, and they'll put an end to it."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Missoulian.com
Author: MIKE DENNISON
Contact: Missoulian.com
Copyright: 2010 Missoulian.com
Website: Montana GOP opposes health reform, urges amending or repealing medical marijuana
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Delegates at the party's platform convention, which met over the weekend in Billings, voted Saturday to adopt a proposed plank that says the Montana Republican Party supports repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, "commonly known as Obamacare."
The proposal came with a unanimous recommendation from the platform's Human Services Committee, made Friday.
Committee members said a majority of the public supports repealing the federal health reform bill, and that it goes against party principles like limited government and individual freedom. Only Congress can repeal the bill.
On medical marijuana, the full platform convention on Saturday rejected a proposal to give Montanans a chance to "revote" on the 2004 initiative that enacted medical marijuana in the state.
Instead, delegates decided to adopt a proposal from state Sen. Jim Shockley, R-Victor, to say the party supports having the 2011 Legislature "amend or repeal" Montana's medical marijuana act.
Montana's medical marijuana program has come under fire the past year as thousands of people have been approved for medical marijuana cards, sometimes at traveling clinics that see and approve scores of patients a day.
Shockley, a frequent critic of the state's medical marijuana program, said it's not what voters expected when they approved the 2004 initiative, and that the Legislature is to best place to address the program's multiple problems.
"We know it was wrong," he said of the program. "We know the people didn't know what they were voting for, and it's our job to correct it."
Having a "revote" on the issue by the public is a "terrible idea," Shockley said, and simply delays addressing the program's problems.
Sen. Roy Brown, R-Billings, who proposed having the public vote again on the issue, argued that the Legislature already tried to address some medical marijuana issues in 2009, but that partisan votes blocked any substantive change.
"I don't think it will be any different at the next (Legislature)," he said. "So the best thing to do is just put it back to the people, and they'll put an end to it."
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Missoulian.com
Author: MIKE DENNISON
Contact: Missoulian.com
Copyright: 2010 Missoulian.com
Website: Montana GOP opposes health reform, urges amending or repealing medical marijuana
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
