MEDICAL MARIJUANA

As someone with 40 years of legal experience, several of which were
spent as a Cook County prosecutor, I find it unfortunate that a
handful of law-enforcement lobbyists have claimed such a large stake
in what is essentially a health-care issue: medical cannabis.

The reasons given by some law-enforcement lobbyists for opposing a
medical marijuana law in Illinois are merely scare tactics designed to
frighten legislators away from an issue that they should be embracing.

The claim that medical cannabis laws enacted to help the sick and
dying will cause more youth to use marijuana is a mistaken view based
upon the experience in the medical cannabis states.

Courtrooms are for criminals, not medical patients.

Unfortunately current Illinois law does not make a distinction between
the medical and nonmedical use of cannabis.

The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program would correct
this injustice.

It is time for lawmakers to listen to science and reason rather than
scare tactics and pass this legislation immediately.

- -- Jim Gierach, Palos Park