Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Next week marks the fifth anniversary of the passing of Connecticut House Bill 5389, legalizing medical marijuana for patients with a wide range of ills – cancer, glaucoma, HIV, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and post traumatic stress disorder among them.
As the 17th state to legalize medical marijuana, Connecticut was hardly a pioneer. That distinction belongs to California, the first to legalize via the statewide voter initiative known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
More than two decades later, much of the controversy surrounding palliative pot appears to have gone up in smoke. A recent Quinnipiac University poll based on a nationwide survey of 1,323 voters found 93 percent in favor of medical marijuana. So are the more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations that cite its effectiveness as a pain reliever and anti-nausea agent.
Scientific studies suggest marijuana may help protect against some types of malignant tumors. It may speed the healing of broken bones and slow the spread of Alzheimer's. It may ease the symptoms of Crohn's disease, lessen the tremors of Parkinson's, and dramatically reduce seizures in patients with treatment-resistant forms of epilepsy.
It may also do none of those things. Federal regulations classifying marijuana as a Schedule I drug have made its health effects nearly impossible to assess. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, having pored over 10,000 individual studies, recently concluded that what is most needed is more study.
One thing can be stated with certainty: Medical marijuana can't do anything for anyone if it isn't available. As of now, five years after legalization, medical marijuana is not available anywhere in lower Fairfield County. The closest dispensaries are in Bethel and Milford. For someone with a debilitating illness, that is a long way to go.
Although state law allows medical marijuana to be produced and dispensed, local building zone regulations do not. Last year, in enacting a nine-month moratorium on amending those regulations, Norwalk zoning commissioners vowed to use the time "to make an informed decision" on whether to allow dispensaries. Said then-Zoning Commission Chairman Adam Blank, "If we can't get to an acceptable comfort level then we will continue to ban them in all zones."
That moratorium expires tomorrow. One would expect the necessary recommendations to have been compiled and evaluated during the nine months set aside for that express purpose.
One would be wrong.
Last week, rather than move forward, the commissioners opted to extend the ban for another six months to do the compiling and evaluating they failed to do during the previous nine.
Elsewhere in Connecticut, eight cities and towns have established the necessary rules and approved licensed dispensaries. Where they fall in terms of their communities' comfort levels is not at issue here. Nor does the decision to allow them constitute a referendum on the pros and cons of cannabis, medical or otherwise.
The real question is whether patients who are legally entitled to medical marijuana for therapeutic use should have equal access to it. It's a health care issue, not a criminal one.
It's also a question of ethics. In that regard, California got it right. For a community to advocate for those too sick to fight for themselves is indeed a compassionate act.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Editorial: Extending medical pot ban limits local health options - The Hour
Author: The Hour Editorial Staff
Contact: Contact Us - The Hour
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: TheHour: Southwest Connecticut Area News, Fairfield County News, Norwalk News, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Real Estate, Classifieds - The Hour
As the 17th state to legalize medical marijuana, Connecticut was hardly a pioneer. That distinction belongs to California, the first to legalize via the statewide voter initiative known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
More than two decades later, much of the controversy surrounding palliative pot appears to have gone up in smoke. A recent Quinnipiac University poll based on a nationwide survey of 1,323 voters found 93 percent in favor of medical marijuana. So are the more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations that cite its effectiveness as a pain reliever and anti-nausea agent.
Scientific studies suggest marijuana may help protect against some types of malignant tumors. It may speed the healing of broken bones and slow the spread of Alzheimer's. It may ease the symptoms of Crohn's disease, lessen the tremors of Parkinson's, and dramatically reduce seizures in patients with treatment-resistant forms of epilepsy.
It may also do none of those things. Federal regulations classifying marijuana as a Schedule I drug have made its health effects nearly impossible to assess. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, having pored over 10,000 individual studies, recently concluded that what is most needed is more study.
One thing can be stated with certainty: Medical marijuana can't do anything for anyone if it isn't available. As of now, five years after legalization, medical marijuana is not available anywhere in lower Fairfield County. The closest dispensaries are in Bethel and Milford. For someone with a debilitating illness, that is a long way to go.
Although state law allows medical marijuana to be produced and dispensed, local building zone regulations do not. Last year, in enacting a nine-month moratorium on amending those regulations, Norwalk zoning commissioners vowed to use the time "to make an informed decision" on whether to allow dispensaries. Said then-Zoning Commission Chairman Adam Blank, "If we can't get to an acceptable comfort level then we will continue to ban them in all zones."
That moratorium expires tomorrow. One would expect the necessary recommendations to have been compiled and evaluated during the nine months set aside for that express purpose.
One would be wrong.
Last week, rather than move forward, the commissioners opted to extend the ban for another six months to do the compiling and evaluating they failed to do during the previous nine.
Elsewhere in Connecticut, eight cities and towns have established the necessary rules and approved licensed dispensaries. Where they fall in terms of their communities' comfort levels is not at issue here. Nor does the decision to allow them constitute a referendum on the pros and cons of cannabis, medical or otherwise.
The real question is whether patients who are legally entitled to medical marijuana for therapeutic use should have equal access to it. It's a health care issue, not a criminal one.
It's also a question of ethics. In that regard, California got it right. For a community to advocate for those too sick to fight for themselves is indeed a compassionate act.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Editorial: Extending medical pot ban limits local health options - The Hour
Author: The Hour Editorial Staff
Contact: Contact Us - The Hour
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: TheHour: Southwest Connecticut Area News, Fairfield County News, Norwalk News, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Real Estate, Classifieds - The Hour
