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For more than six years, seriously ill Illinois residents, their families and advocates have been fighting to pass medical marijuana legislation in Illinois. It has been an uphill battle for much of that time, but last month brought a breakthrough. The House of Representatives passed legislation that would establish a four-year pilot program to supply medical marijuana to patients with qualifying conditions if their doctors recommend it. Supporters are hopeful that the Senate, which is scheduled to review the bill later today, will pass the bill and that Gov. Pat Quinn will sign it into law. Such actions are long past due in Illinois.
Still, anyone who is expecting the Third Coast to turn into the West Coast is in for a disappointment. Unlike out west, where medical marijuana laws largely were written by advocates and enacted by the voters, Illinois law does not allow ballot initiatives on this type of legislation. As a result, Illinois' medical marijuana law will be a product of the legislative process and all the scrutiny and compromise that comes with it.
So, what will be different?
For one thing, where California law allows individuals to get recommendations for medical marijuana from any doctor, the bill approved by the Illinois House only allows a physician to recommend medical marijuana to a patient with whom he or she has a preexisting, ongoing relationship. More significantly, the doctor also must be responsible for treating the underlying illness the patient will be using marijuana to alleviate.
California law allows doctors to recommend marijuana for a vast number of conditions, including anxiety and depression. In Colorado, 94 percent of people who use medical marijuana cite chronic and severe pain. It will be a much different story in Illinois.
NARROW DEFINITIONS
Under the bill to be considered by Illinois' Senate, "debilitating medical condition" is narrowly defined and includes a short list of diseases and conditions. Some, like multiple sclerosis and cancer, you have probably heard before. Others, like syringomyelia and myasthenia gravis, you might not. All of them, however, are seriously debilitating conditions, and I can assure you the people suffering from them are turning to marijuana as a source of relief, not fun. As a friend with multiple sclerosis once told me, he will be in an exclusive club of which nobody wants to be a member.
Another common feature of medical marijuana laws adopted by Western states is the establishment of dispensaries, where patients are able to purchase marijuana. The proposal in Illinois includes a system of dispensaries, but there will hardly be a resemblance. California does not recognize or regulate dispensaries; that is left entirely up to the localities. In Colorado, dispensaries are tightly regulated by the state and localities, but there is no firm limit to their number, and several hundred are operating.
The Illinois bill, on the other hand, provides for a maximum of just 60 dispensing centers in the entire state, which will obtain marijuana from one of up to 22 cultivation sites (one per state police district). These facilities will be strictly regulated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Medical marijuana also will be tested for pesticides and potency and sold in labeled, sealed, tamper-proof containers.
If Illinois adopts the proposed medical marijuana law, it will have one thing in common with all of the other states with such laws: Individuals suffering from serious illnesses who use marijuana in the treatment of their conditions will no longer face the threat of arrest and criminal penalties. They also will be able to access their medicine in a safe and legal environment instead of the underground market.
As a former assistant prosecutor, I can say with certainty that there is no more wasteful – and inhumane – use of law enforcement resources than arresting and prosecuting a cancer patient who uses marijuana to ease the nausea caused by chemotherapy, or a multiple sclerosis patient desperate to calm muscle spasms. A recent Paul Simon Institute poll showed Illinois residents, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, believe it is time to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. It is time for elected officials to listen to them.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: chicagobusiness.com
Author: Dan Riffle
Contact: Contact Us - Crain's Chicago Business
Website: Crain's Chicago Business
Still, anyone who is expecting the Third Coast to turn into the West Coast is in for a disappointment. Unlike out west, where medical marijuana laws largely were written by advocates and enacted by the voters, Illinois law does not allow ballot initiatives on this type of legislation. As a result, Illinois' medical marijuana law will be a product of the legislative process and all the scrutiny and compromise that comes with it.
So, what will be different?
For one thing, where California law allows individuals to get recommendations for medical marijuana from any doctor, the bill approved by the Illinois House only allows a physician to recommend medical marijuana to a patient with whom he or she has a preexisting, ongoing relationship. More significantly, the doctor also must be responsible for treating the underlying illness the patient will be using marijuana to alleviate.
California law allows doctors to recommend marijuana for a vast number of conditions, including anxiety and depression. In Colorado, 94 percent of people who use medical marijuana cite chronic and severe pain. It will be a much different story in Illinois.
NARROW DEFINITIONS
Under the bill to be considered by Illinois' Senate, "debilitating medical condition" is narrowly defined and includes a short list of diseases and conditions. Some, like multiple sclerosis and cancer, you have probably heard before. Others, like syringomyelia and myasthenia gravis, you might not. All of them, however, are seriously debilitating conditions, and I can assure you the people suffering from them are turning to marijuana as a source of relief, not fun. As a friend with multiple sclerosis once told me, he will be in an exclusive club of which nobody wants to be a member.
Another common feature of medical marijuana laws adopted by Western states is the establishment of dispensaries, where patients are able to purchase marijuana. The proposal in Illinois includes a system of dispensaries, but there will hardly be a resemblance. California does not recognize or regulate dispensaries; that is left entirely up to the localities. In Colorado, dispensaries are tightly regulated by the state and localities, but there is no firm limit to their number, and several hundred are operating.
The Illinois bill, on the other hand, provides for a maximum of just 60 dispensing centers in the entire state, which will obtain marijuana from one of up to 22 cultivation sites (one per state police district). These facilities will be strictly regulated by the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Medical marijuana also will be tested for pesticides and potency and sold in labeled, sealed, tamper-proof containers.
If Illinois adopts the proposed medical marijuana law, it will have one thing in common with all of the other states with such laws: Individuals suffering from serious illnesses who use marijuana in the treatment of their conditions will no longer face the threat of arrest and criminal penalties. They also will be able to access their medicine in a safe and legal environment instead of the underground market.
As a former assistant prosecutor, I can say with certainty that there is no more wasteful – and inhumane – use of law enforcement resources than arresting and prosecuting a cancer patient who uses marijuana to ease the nausea caused by chemotherapy, or a multiple sclerosis patient desperate to calm muscle spasms. A recent Paul Simon Institute poll showed Illinois residents, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, believe it is time to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. It is time for elected officials to listen to them.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: chicagobusiness.com
Author: Dan Riffle
Contact: Contact Us - Crain's Chicago Business
Website: Crain's Chicago Business
