SICK, DYING NEED SENSIBLE MARIJUANA LAW

If you've followed the debate regarding a bill to stop criminalizing
seriously ill patients who rely on medical marijuana, you might
believe Illinois' law enforcement community has lined up unanimously
to oppose this sensible, compassionate legislation.

It's true that a few of our chiefs and police union leaders have
appointed themselves spokespeople for the rapidly dwindling few who
would still arrest suffering Illinoisans whose doctors recommend
medical marijuana for relief.

But they do not speak for all who serve in law enforcement. We see
laws requiring officers to harass and even arrest seriously ill
people fighting for their very lives as cruel and wasteful not only
to those suffering patients, but also to those of us who swore to
protect and defend them.

We base our strong support for this medical marijuana legislation on
our years of experience enforcing the law. We have listened carefully
to our colleagues' arguments against allowing doctors and patients to
make treatment decisions involving medical marijuana, and we believe
their opposition is sincere and heartfelt.

But it is not rooted in science or real-world experience and should
be rejected.

If we understand the substantive foundation of the objection to
carving a narrow exception to existing marijuana laws to allow its
use by patients when conventional treatments have failed, it lies in
the fear that doing so would invite widespread abuse and crime.

But there is no evidence to support this fear. In fact, the
experience of the 13 states that have laws similar to the one being
considered in Illinois suggests the opposite is true.

Eleven of those states have had laws on the books long enough to
collect reliable data on youth marijuana use trends since
establishing a medical marijuana law. In every single one of those
states, teen marijuana use has dropped.

In many states, including California -- whose medical marijuana law
is nowhere near as tightly constructed as Illinois' -- those drops
have been dramatic.

Then there's the experience of the law enforcement officials who have
actually dealt with medical marijuana laws firsthand. In a study
conducted by the General Accounting Office (Congress' investigational
arm now called the Government Accountability Office) in 2002,
officials from 37 law enforcement agencies in four medical marijuana
states concluded that "medical marijuana laws have had little impact
on their law enforcement activities." Specifically, "very few or no
encounters involving medical marijuana registry cards or claims of a
medical marijuana defense" were cited.

More fundamentally, we believe this legislation is primarily a matter
for patients and medical professionals.

It is the choice of those in Illinois law enforcement whether they
wish to accept the conclusions of countless esteemed medical
organizations that recognize medical marijuana's value, including the
American College of Physicians, the American Public Health
Association, the American Nurses Association, the Lymphoma & Leukemia
Society, the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine and
the American Academy of HIV Medicine.

While we share our colleagues' concern that any medical marijuana law
must be tightly controlled to prevent abuses, it should be pointed
out that the pending legislation does exactly that. Not only is
Illinois' medical marijuana bill one of the most tightly written in
history, but its sponsors have worked with opponents in the law
enforcement community to address their specific concerns about the bill.

Illinois' sick and dying cannot wait any longer for a sensible,
compassionate law that allows them access to doctor-recommended
medical marijuana when all other options have failed. The discomfort
some in law enforcement may feel about such a law does not approach
that of seriously ill patients who struggle every day for relief and
who often risk arrest to achieve it. As compassionate, concerned
Illinoisans, we urge our elected leaders to act quickly on behalf of
their most suffering constituents and pass this medical marijuana law now.