The General
New Member
When Iowa-born Dr. Steve Jenison graduated from the University of Iowa College of Medicine back in 1981, it was only two years after two Iowa lawmakers – Republican Dale Hibbs and Democrat Bob Arnould – helped shepherd a bill through the Iowa House that would have allowed marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes. The bipartisan pair managed to get out of committee and onto the House floor for a full debate, but ended up withdrawing the bill after hours of grueling political circus.
Although most efforts to recognize marijuana's medicinal value have been similarly marginalized over the past 34 years, medical marijuana advocates have been far more successful in Jenison's new home state of New Mexico, which legalized medical marijuana in 2007. And Jenison has played a key role in the development and implementation of New Mexico's Medical Cannabis Program. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the program's first medical director, and for the past three years, he has chaired the program's Medical Advisory Board.
That makes Jenison an ideal person to host a series of forums he's calling "A Conversation about Medical Marijuana in Iowa." He already has held one such conversation on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, and he will speak on the topic at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Iowa City Public Library and 7 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Des Moines Public Library at 6 p.m. on Dec. 2. Those conversations are important because, back in 2010, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted 6-0 to propose legislation that would reclassify marijuana and make it possible to legalize the drug for medical purposes. The anecdotal and statistical information provided in the statewide forums since then have showed that marijuana already is serving a medicinal purpose for many people suffering from glaucoma, fibromyalgia and many other chronic illnesses.
When making its recommendation, the pharmacy board specifically pointed to the New Mexico's program as a good model for Iowa to adopt. While state lawmakers have been skeptical of taking such a step, several Iowa Polls commissioned by The Des Moines Register since 2010 have found that a clear majority of Iowans agree their state should join the states that allow marijuana to be prescribed for medical use. To get to that point, however, Iowa needs state legislators who have the maturity to discuss this controversial issue like grown-ups. And part of that grown-up discussion involves looking at the successes and failures among the other states that have medical marijuana programs.
That's why we were so disappointed (though not surprised) when a bill to reclassify marijuana failed to pass a House subcommittee this year. Even worse, the Republican subcommittee members seemed to treat the entire discussion as some kind of joke. Similar legislation introduced by Democrat Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City did a little better in the Iowa Senate, but the political prognosis is still that it will be a long time before chronically ill Iowans can access medical marijuana legally to help relieve the painful symptoms that come from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
For the past four years, we've argued that Iowans deserve state leaders who are capable of a serious discussion about what works and doesn't work in the systems set up in those other states. And we hope Jenison's conversations will help Iowa eventually figure out how to set up a system here that ensures the chronically ill can have access to the benefits marijuana provides but that can't be easily manipulated and abused by recreational users.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Press-citizen.com
Author: Staff
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Time to look
Although most efforts to recognize marijuana's medicinal value have been similarly marginalized over the past 34 years, medical marijuana advocates have been far more successful in Jenison's new home state of New Mexico, which legalized medical marijuana in 2007. And Jenison has played a key role in the development and implementation of New Mexico's Medical Cannabis Program. From 2007 to 2010, he served as the program's first medical director, and for the past three years, he has chaired the program's Medical Advisory Board.
That makes Jenison an ideal person to host a series of forums he's calling "A Conversation about Medical Marijuana in Iowa." He already has held one such conversation on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, and he will speak on the topic at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Iowa City Public Library and 7 p.m. Dec. 2 in the Des Moines Public Library at 6 p.m. on Dec. 2. Those conversations are important because, back in 2010, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted 6-0 to propose legislation that would reclassify marijuana and make it possible to legalize the drug for medical purposes. The anecdotal and statistical information provided in the statewide forums since then have showed that marijuana already is serving a medicinal purpose for many people suffering from glaucoma, fibromyalgia and many other chronic illnesses.
When making its recommendation, the pharmacy board specifically pointed to the New Mexico's program as a good model for Iowa to adopt. While state lawmakers have been skeptical of taking such a step, several Iowa Polls commissioned by The Des Moines Register since 2010 have found that a clear majority of Iowans agree their state should join the states that allow marijuana to be prescribed for medical use. To get to that point, however, Iowa needs state legislators who have the maturity to discuss this controversial issue like grown-ups. And part of that grown-up discussion involves looking at the successes and failures among the other states that have medical marijuana programs.
That's why we were so disappointed (though not surprised) when a bill to reclassify marijuana failed to pass a House subcommittee this year. Even worse, the Republican subcommittee members seemed to treat the entire discussion as some kind of joke. Similar legislation introduced by Democrat Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City did a little better in the Iowa Senate, but the political prognosis is still that it will be a long time before chronically ill Iowans can access medical marijuana legally to help relieve the painful symptoms that come from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
For the past four years, we've argued that Iowans deserve state leaders who are capable of a serious discussion about what works and doesn't work in the systems set up in those other states. And we hope Jenison's conversations will help Iowa eventually figure out how to set up a system here that ensures the chronically ill can have access to the benefits marijuana provides but that can't be easily manipulated and abused by recreational users.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Press-citizen.com
Author: Staff
Contact: Contact Us
Website: Time to look
