VOTERS SHOULD HAVE SAY ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Montana voters made their compassionate intentions clear when they
created the state's medical marijuana program in 2004. People with
cancer, HIV/AIDs, chronic pain and other conditions should have the
legal right to use cannabis safely as part of their medical treatment.

The measure received 62 percent of the vote, a national record for
this type of program. It was democracy in action.

The 2011 Legislature's repeal of that policy is a blatant attempt to
revoke patients' rights and overturn the will of the voters. The
repeal is both cruel and undemocratic. And, for me it is very personal.

It's vital that voters have a chance to speak again on this
issue.

Whether you support the concept of medical marijuana or not, I hope
you will sign the Initiative Referendum 124 petition that is
circulating now. By signing IR-124 you help place Senate Bill 423 on
the ballot for the citizens of Montana to vote on during the 2012 elections.

Lifesaving medicine

Patients like me, for whom medical-grade cannabis has quite literally
been a lifesaver, strongly support reform and strict regulation of
medical marijuana. Most of us supported a number of reform proposals
last winter, including a bipartisan bill that all the state's law
enforcement agencies and groups also supported.

But the Legislature rejected workable, consensus regulation in favor
of repeal and wholesale replacement. The bill that ultimately passed,
SB423, was written by pro-repeal legislators who very openly
acknowledged that their goal was to get "as close to repeal as possible."

But SB423 won't work at all for patients, especially not the sickest
among us. And the legislators who prevailed didn't care; in fact, they
designed it that way. It is simply an unworkable prohibition on the
availability and medical use of cannabis.

At one point in the final hours of the session, when a conference
committee was rushing to adopt more than 150 amendments to SB423, one
of its members pointed out that the bill offered patients no legal way
to obtain the plants they need. One of the pro-repeal members spoke
for the majority of the committee when he responded, "That's not our
problem."

But it IS my problem, and there are a great many other patients in the
same situation. Before I tried medical-grade cannabis, I used to
suffer nearly a dozen seizures every day, some of them violent,
despite the array of expensive and very risky medications my doctors
gave me. With cannabis, I have been seizure-free for two years now,
and I have lost more than 200 pounds that the pharmaceutical
side-effects caused me to gain. I am again able to work and have a
nearly normal life.

However, I am simply not able to grow my own cannabis, much less
produce the sophisticated, consistent dosages of "oral" cannabis that
I need. (Like many patients, my relief comes mainly from eating
specially prepared cannabis-infused foods.)

Tough on patients

There are many ways that SB423 obstructs the ability of seriously ill
patients to obtain the safe, high-quality cannabis that relieves their
symptoms. The repeal law makes it much harder for patients with
cancer, glaucoma or AIDS to even receive recommendations from
physicians. It specifies plant limits that will make it difficult for
even the best growers to produce a steady supply for patients. It
prevents growers from being compensated for their work, even though
their overhead costs are considerable.

Voters wanted seriously ill patients to be left alone, and to have the
medicine they need, but SB 423 was written to prevent this
compassionate goal from being realized.

Why should Montanans sign the IR-124 petition to put the issue on the
2012 election ballot? Because Montanans respect democracy and the
initiative process. Because we believe the Legislature should show
special respect for policies adopted by voter initiative. Because it
was our voice that created this policy, and it should be our voice
that helps solve problems in ways that work for everyone, including
patients.