Medical Marijuana Moves in House; Disagreement Grows

A bill to legalize marijuana for medical uses passed its final committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, last week, and could end up on Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s desk before the end of the session. The bill has already passed the Minnesota Senate.

The bill has the support of liberal and conservative legislators such as Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, but opposition to the bill crosses party lines as well. Sviggum told the City Pages last week, “I’ve had numbers of members, both Republicans and Democrats, tell me in private they would love to support the bill, but they can’t just yet.” Pawlenty isn’t ready to support the bill yet either. He has promised to veto the bill if it makes it to his desk.

The Winona Daily News came out in support of the legislation last week:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty has threatened to veto this bill because he believes it will make it harder for law enforcement officers to do their jobs.

While we don’t think a police officer’s job should be any harder, we also trust their professional judgment to determine the difference between illicit use and medical use. We wish the governor would give the law enforcement community a little more credit. And we wish the governor would support legislation that would help demonstrate that compassionate and conservative are more than just words in a party slogan.

We hope that someday the need for medical marijuana will end. That would mean that medical science has eliminated chronic, painful and debilitating diseases. But that day isn’t here now. For now, there’s compassion and maybe soon, there’ll be medical marijuana in Minnesota.

State Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, penned an editorial on the subject that ran in the Winona Daily News:

Do we really think that the same people who might need this drug to address their illness might not also need money and be willing to sell their excess marijuana? Do we really think that those intending to buy and sell marijuana to feed their own habits of crack and meth won’t find a way to steal it or buy it from the vulnerable? And what about the violent gang members who make it their business to buy and sell drugs? Last year there were more than two dozen murders in Minneapolis where marijuana transactions were involved.

Imagine a world where school teachers, bus drivers and custodians can legally possess marijuana, and the superintendent, parents, and school board don’t know. Imagine a world where sickly grandparents and patients in nursing homes have marijuana in their drawers. Our children know how to find ways to buy alcohol and cigarettes illegally, and they know how to sneak liquor from cabinets.

If adopted, this legislation will increase access, increase abuse, and increase crime. The risks and consequences associated with being compassionate in this case are too great. I believe that if we temper our compassion with our good judgment, we simply cannot allow this proposal to become law in Minnesota.

Howard J. Wooldridge, a retired officer and the education specialist for LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, offered a rebuttal in a letter to the editor:

As a retired police officer with 18 years of experience, I can assure you that my profession will have no problem enforcing a medical marijuana law in Minnesota.

When the patient has a state-issued card, certifying that person as a medical marijuana patient, the officer who comes in contact with that patient and marijuana will simply not arrest, nor seize the marijuana.

This is the same concept that many states with concealed weapon permit use; for example, if the possessor of the pistol has a permit, we let them go. The possessor does not have a permit, we arrest them and seize the weapon.

This is not rocket science.

The majority of officers do not want to chase sick people.

State Sen. Tom Neuville, R-Northfield, wrote against the bill last week in a commentary that appeared in the Shakopee Valley News:

Basically, anyone could create a registered organization or become a primary care giver. There are no limits to the number of organizations that could legally grow marijuana. Therefore, literally thousands of non-profit corporations could be established throughout the state to grow marijuana… Marijuana remains a gateway drug to other drugs. The ready-accessibility of medical marijuana would send a message that marijuana is also appropriate to use recreationally. The cultural impact of legalizing a drug, which is still illegal under the federal law, cannot be underestimated.