Pubdate: Mon, 2 May 2011
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Copyright: 2011 Chicago Tribune Company
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ
Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?259 (Cannabis - Medicinal - Illinois)

THERAPEUTIC POT

The Illinois legislature is close to legalizing medical marijuana. 
Before you scream in protest, or launch into a Cheech and Chong joke, 
give this some consideration. Illinois could pass a model law for the 
rest of the country.

The Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis act, sponsored by Rep. Lou 
Lang (D-Skokie), could pass the House this week, thanks in large part 
to a change in position by House Republican leader Tom Cross 
(R-Oswego). The timing may finally be right.

The Senate approved a medical marijuana bill in 2009, but the House 
narrowly rejected it last January. A revised bill has gained the 
support of Cross, a former Kendall County prosecutor. He says he's 
comfortable with the strict guidelines written into this version.

Lang's collaboration with House Republicans has produced a careful 
piece of legislation. Cannabis could be used in place of painkillers 
that have harsh side effects and can be addictive. Prescriptions 
would have to be renewed every two weeks and would be limited to 2.5 
ounces, which would limit any efforts to resell for recreational use. 
A patient would be prohibited from driving for 12 hours after 
consuming marijuana. Patients could buy only from a state-licensed 
dispensary for serious, specific medical conditions. They could not 
legally grow marijuana. The law would sunset in three years, so the 
legislature would have to evaluate the whole thing at that time.

In short: the law would likely avoid what has happened in some 
states, where "medical marijuana" is available to practically anyone 
just looking to get high.

The therapeutic benefits of marijuana are still hotly debated, but 
the idea of whether to permit medical use apparently is pretty well 
settled for most citizens of Illinois. A Mason-Dixon poll in 2008 
found 68 percent supported allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to 
people who are seriously ill. The support was consistent across the 
state - 70 percent in the Chicago area, 65 percent Downstate.

Some people who aren't ill probably will take advantage of the law, 
though there are penalties for that. More likely, seriously ill 
people who now resort to buying marijuana illegally to alleviate 
their suffering will obey the law. Better to make sure cannabis is 
regulated and the sale to patients is aboveboard.

Cross met with some of those patients, including a disabled veteran, 
and says those face-to-face meetings helped to change his mind. This 
is a reasonable, restrictive bill, and it should pass the House and Senate.  
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake