MEDICAL MARIJUANA DEBATE HEATS UP IN IOWA

DES MOINES - Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, 53-year-old Barbara
Douglass can no longer walk and uses a scooter.

But she has found one way to cope with a condition she calls "ungodly
and terrible" and to steady her shaking hands - smoking marijuana.

"It doesn't make it better, but it makes it easier," said Douglass,
who also is legally blind.

Douglass, of Lakeside is one of two Iowans who are part of a federal
program that allows them to smoke marijuana legally for their medical
conditions. Each month, Douglass gets a can of prerolled marijuana
cigarettes from her doctor. She finds she is more active after smoking it.

Douglass has a message for Iowa policymakers who are about to start
analyzing the issue: Marijuana is medicine.

Advocates of legalizing the medical use of marijuana are optimistic
that a series of public hearings on the issue could open the door to
Iowa becoming the 14th state to effectively allow it.

The Iowa Board of Pharmacy is holding four hearings beginning this
month on the pros and cons of the medical use of marijuana and could
decide to make a recommendation to state lawmakers based on their findings.

Carl Olsen of Iowans for Medical Marijuana said he has been working
since about 1990 to get the state of Iowa to recognize the potential
medical benefits of the drug.

Olsen unsuccessfully petitioned the pharmacy board to recognize that
marijuana has accepted medical uses and remove it from Schedule I,
the most restrictive class of drugs. He is planning to appeal the
decision and is organizing supporters of a medical marijuana law to
turn out at the board's hearings, which begin Aug. 19 in Des Moines.

"I want to nail this thing now while I've got the momentum on my
side," Olsen said.

The pharmacy board will accept comments from the public at the
hearings but is especially looking for scientific evidence on the use
of marijuana for medical purposes.

Ultimately, the decision will be in the hands of Iowa lawmakers.

Any change in Iowa's classification of marijuana would have to be
made by the Legislature, said Scott Galenbeck, an assistant Iowa
attorney general who handles legal matters for the pharmacy board.

Legislature Will Be Key

An attempt to make marijuana legal for medical use could face an
uphill battle in the Iowa Legislature. A bill that would have allowed
the use of medical marijuana stalled in the Iowa Senate last session.

House Speaker Pat Murphy, D-Dubuque, does not think support exists
among majority Democrats in the House. But he said if the pharmacy
board makes a recommendation to allow medical marijuana, it would
lend credibility to having a debate.

"I do think it gets to the point then where you'll see other
legislators that may introduce bills in the House, and you might
start some public conversation about this," Murphy said.

Sen. Merlin Bartz, a Republican from Grafton, said under that bill
considered last session "even a veterinarian could have prescribed
medical marijuana."

Bartz had reservations about that particular piece of legislation,
but is open to allowing marijuana for medical purposes if it is
prescribed by a doctor and has scientifically proven benefits. He
believes lawmakers should take a look at the pharmacy board's
findings even if for some legislators it is a "political hot potato."

"I've always said that good public policy is good politics, but this
frankly may be one of those where people don't want to ... let the
facts confuse them," Bartz said.

Despite supporting medical marijuana, Bartz said some of its
advocates appear to be "a little disingenuous" and simply want to
legalize marijuana, an idea Bartz opposes.

One lawmaker staunchly against allowing medical marijuana use is Rep.
Clel Baudler, a Republican and retired state trooper from Greenfield.

"I would fight that totally," Baudler said.

Baudler fears allowing the medical use of marijuana would mean a step
toward legalizing marijuana in Iowa, pointing to legalization efforts
in California.

"It's just another step in ruining our society as we know it, and
ruining our nation. I will never, ever support this," Baudler said.

State Laws at Odds With Federal

Even if Iowa were to change its law allowing for the medical use of
marijuana, it is still illegal under federal law.

Dan Bernath, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, said the
13 states that have medical marijuana laws have protected most
patients from the threat of arrest.

He said federal policy has changed to be even more tolerant of
states' medical marijuana laws.

"The truth is that most states have written their laws so even the
federal government at its most hostile hasn't had any reason to want
to go in and interfere with those medical marijuana laws," Bernath said.

Marijuana Policy Project believes any effective state medical
marijuana law has to be clearly written so law enforcement officials
and patients know whether someone is obeying it.

"The law has to be easy to understand, easy to follow and truly
protect patients from the threat of arrest from state, local and
federal law enforcement," Bernath said.

Bernath said it also is important that the law allows a way for
patients to obtain marijuana. Every state that now has an effective
medical marijuana law also has a way for patients to grow marijuana
for their personal use or designate somebody to grow it for them, he said.

Three states' laws allow for distribution centers - California, Rhode
Island and New Mexico, according to Bernath.

Douglass, the Lakeside woman who smokes marijuana for her MS, has
been enrolled in the federal medical marijuana program since 1991 and
is one of only a handful of people still in it.

She hopes other Iowans would have a chance to use marijuana legally
if it would ease symptoms for their medical conditions.

"Marijuana helps - it helps a lot of things for me," Douglass said.

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MARIJUANA DEBATE

States that effectively allow the use of marijuana for medical
purposes: California, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Maine, Nevada,
Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Montana, Rhode Island, New Mexico and Michigan.

What Iowa's doing: The Iowa Pharmacy Board has scheduled four public
hearings to gather scientific data and comments about medical marijuana.

Hearing dates: Aug. 19, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Iowa State
Historical Building, Des Moines; Sept. 2, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the
Music Man Square Reunion Hall, Mason City; Oct. 7, noon to 7 p.m. at
the Bowen Science Building, Iowa City; Nov. 4, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.,
Harrah's Council Bluffs, Ballroom 1, Council Bluffs.

More information: Available at the Iowa Pharmacy Board's Web site at
http://www.iowa.gov/ibpe/http://www.iowa.gov/ibpe/