ILLINOIS COULD BE NEXT STATE TO LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

If Passed, Pending Bill Would Do So

To Bruce Mirken, denying people in need of marijuana is absurd -if
they need it for medical reasons, he believes they should have it.

Mirken, the director of communications for the Marijuana Policy
Project, may see this vision become a reality if the Illinois medical
marijuana bill is passed through the General Assembly.

The bill, which was passed by the Senate's Health and Human Services
Committee by a 6-4 vote last week, would legalize the use of medical marijuana.

"It's simply crazy that we threaten patients with cancer, multiple
sclerosis or AIDS with arrest or jail for something that may help
them," Mirken said. "There's simply no doubt that marijuana relieves
nausea, appetitive loss, pain and other troubling symptoms."

The bill itself would allow for patients with such debilitating
conditions to grow up to 12 marijuana plants with a physician's
approval. According to the bill, qualified patients and their
caregivers would be granted an identification card by the Department
of Public Health that would allow them to grow cannabis.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said he didn't support the medical
marijuana bill. He said that doctors report the same chemicals in
marijuana can be given and made available in the pill form, which is
available with a doctor's permission.

Aside from that, he said it would basically be a step toward
condoning cannabis as a legal substance.

"The biggest scare I would have with it is it would be the first step
toward the legalization of marijuana," Bost said. "If you legalize it
in the state of Illinois, there will be other states around us where
it is not legal. Then what other problems might occur?"

The biggest problem, Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Rick
Hector said, would be drug enforcement. Distinguishing between those
who are using the drug for medical purposes and those who are
illegally using it would be difficult line to draw. On top of that,
Hector said 12 marijuana plants could yield up to 60 pounds of
marijuana in a year's time, creating a surplus that could turn into
illegal drug transactions.

"We really feel the potential for abusing this would be pretty high,"
Hector said.

"It will definitely make it more complicated for law enforcement
officers to make legitimate cases about who is in violation."

Kyle Doty, a junior studying agribusiness economics from Noble, said
proper usage would be the key if the law were to take effect.

"I think it's fine for the people who need it as long as it doesn't
cause a problem for the rest of society," Doty said. "There could be
problems; they should regulate how it's done and keep an eye on the
people who have it."

If passed, Senate Bill 2568 would make Illinois the twelfth state to
allow marijuana use for medical reasons. Alaska, California,
Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Vermont and Washington are states that currently protect medical marijuana.

Mirken said it shouldn't stop there, either; medical marijuana
protection should be across the board.

He said marijuana, although it can be a risk to use, is safer than
some over-the-counter and prescription drugs. He said it is
impossible to overdose on marijuana, whereas a 10-year-old could
readily buy enough Tylenol to overdose and kill a whole classroom of kids.

"Obviously, no system devised by humans is perfect," Mirken said. "I
can't assure no one will cheat, just like with prescription drugs.
But you don't keep helpful treatments away from someone who needs
them because someone else doesn't know how to use it."