NARROWLY TAILORED BILL WOULD PROVIDE HELP TO ILL PATIENTS

The Minnesota House is considering the medical marijuana bill, which
was passed by the full Senate last year. As its lead author in the
House, I'm delighted to have the opportunity to make the case for it here.

S.F. 345 is a tightly crafted bill, the sole purpose of which is to
protect seriously ill Minnesotans from arrest and jail for using
medical marijuana when their doctors recommend it. Its specific
provisions are far more careful, with stricter controls than those of
any of the 12 medical marijuana states - and the penalties for
violations of the law far more severe.

Similar bills have been introduced before in the Legislature but
never gained traction. This session, it has been different: S.F. 345
and its House companion bill, H.F. 655, were introduced with
bipartisan support and the consistent backing of Minnesotans, who
favor a compassionate law by a 2-1 margin.

Opponents wrongly try to characterize medical marijuana as a fringe
issue. In fact, S.F. 345 has the support of the Minnesota Nurses
Association, the Minnesota Public Health Association, the Minnesota
AIDS Project and the Minnesota Senior Federation. Esteemed national
health organizations like the American College of Physicians -
representing 124,000 cancer and infectious disease specialists and
other doctors of internal medicine - the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
and the American Public Health Association also support protecting
medical marijuana patients.

In a recent statement, ACP said it "strongly urges protection from
criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as
permitted under state laws ... given marijuana's proven efficacy at
treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity."

In addition, nearly 3,000 Minnesotan medical professionals signed
statements of support in favor of the bill, and the Legislature heard
supportive testimony from four doctors and 10 nurses.

Critics argue that Marinol - a synthetic version of just one of
marijuana's chemical components - is available to patients, but
Marinol is certainly not marijuana. It contains only one of
marijuana's more than 60 active components and often just doesn't work as well.

It's also a pill - not appropriate for cancer patients suffering from
chemotherapy-induced nausea - and far too intoxicating for some
patients. The ACP noted that Marinol's psychoactive side effects are
"more severe" than those of inhaled marijuana.

Critics also hinge their arguments on marijuana's dangers. Yes,
marijuana poses some risks, but so do all medications. Physicians
routinely recommend addictive and potentially deadly narcotics to
patients because the benefits of these substances outweigh their
risks in specific circumstances. There is no reason this shouldn't be
true for medical marijuana, which (as the ACP noted) is far more
benign than most painkillers. Medical treatment decisions should be
made by medical professionals - not politicians, police, or bureaucrats.

I'm hopeful that the House will send S.F. 345 to Gov. Tim Pawlenty,
and that he will sign it into law. It is a narrowly tailored bill
that offers some real hope to some of the sickest people in our
state. As a matter of compassion and science, it should be Minnesota law.