[Vision2020] Legalizing Medical Marijuana

[Paul Rumelhart]

I'm glad to see some movement in this area.  Of all the drugs that are 
available, legally or otherwise, marijuana seems to be one of the least 
dangerous.  I'm all for legalizing it completely so that we can invest 
our efforts in tackling the truly dangerous drugs more efficiently.  
Marijuana use is not something I'm particularly interested in, but it 
doesn't have the devastating effects that cocaine, heroin, and some of 
the more exotic drugs do.

I'm not a big fan of legislating who can do what to their own bodies, 
but the more potent drugs that are immediately addictive or nearly so 
are dangerous enough that I can see the need for intervention in the 
interest of stopping mistakes that cannot be easily undone.  Marijuana 
doesn't seem to be in the same category, from what I've read about it.

Criminalizing people, sometimes with lifelong consequences, because they 
smoked an herb that is less dangerous than tobacco has always seemed 
like a really stupid idea, in my opinion.  This bill at least helps out 
those to whom marijuana is known to have a positive effect.  The next 
step would be to legalize it for everyone and free up the tax dollars 
that have been invested in enforcing the laws on it's usage and 
incarcerating those who have done nothing else wrong.  It might even 
take some of the cash flow away from the very groups that are making the 
Mexico border into a militarized zone.

Paul

Tom Trail wrote:
> Visionaries:  Some questions have come up about the process of developing
> legislation for legalizing the use of medical marijuana.  During the past 18
> months I have met with citizens around the state who suffer a great deal of
> pain from conditions such as brain cancer, AIDS, and a variety of other
> chronic illnesses.  Medical marijuana is the only substance that brings
> them relief from their severe pain.
>
> The majority of states in the West have legalized the use of medical
> marijuana.  This was done via the initiative process rather than the
> legislative route.  In Idaho the initiative processes is very expensive
> and difficult compared to surrounding states.   Therefore, it seemed that
> the legislative route was the best way to go.
>
> During the past year I worked with contacts in other states who had
> passed via the initiative route the legalization of medical marijuana.
> Draft legislation was developed and reviewed, and then I asked my other
> state contacts for their input.  I was about ready to introduce the
> legislation in this past legislative session when I learned that New
> Jersey had passed via the legislative process a bill which was considered
> one of the toughest among the 14 states who have legalized the use of
> medical marijuana.
>
> We all know that Idaho is a very conservative state so my contacts around
> the state recommended that the New Jersey model might be the best one to
> follow.  I worked closely with Robert Capecchi, Legal Analyst, of the National
> Medical Marijuana Program in Washington, D.C. and his team to review the
> proposed legislation.  I met with Mr. Capecchi and Assembleman, Don Murphy
> (Republican) from Maryland last December in Washington, D.C.  Don led the
> successful effort to legalize medical marijuana in the state of Maryland.
> During the months of January and February the review process continued
> until we finally reached agreement that we had a good proposal for Idaho.
> It, obviously, was too late in the session to introduce the proposal.
>
> I've already held meetings with stakeholder groups in the Treasure Valley
> and have good contacts in Sandpoint, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Hailey.
> The plan is to hold a series of town hall meetings this summer around
> the state (at my own expense) inviting all of the stakeholders including
> legislators to attend.  We also plan to meet with a group of stakeholders
> in Boise with Governor Otter.  We will also be meeting with the Idaho
> Medical Association,  law enforcement agencies,  Department of Health and
> Welfare officials, and many others as the process moves forward.  We are
> now in the process of selecting a state coordinator and applying for
> several grants.
>
> As you can see, there is a great deal of work involved is working with
> this type of legislation.
>
> Rep. Tom Trail
>