Pubdate: Sun, 05 Jun 2011 Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT) Copyright: 2011 The Billings Gazette Contact: http://billingsgazette.com/app/contact/?contact=letter Website: http://www.billingsgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/515 Author: Sarah Baugh NEW MEDICAL POT LAW COULD BE DEATH SENTENCE I am a 26-year-old cannabis patient. I eat and smoke cannabis daily to treat my epilepsy. After a decade of failed treatments, I'm seizure-free for the past 1 1/3 years. SB 423 is more than just a politician's ploy, circumventing the will of the people with repeal in disguise. SB 423 is a death sentence for the most critically ill cannabis patients in the state. Buying seeds is illegal. How will I start my first crop legally? How will I find a provider when advertising is not allowed? How will I find someone to provide legally -- which opens them up to random, warrantless inspections from law enforcement? How will I find a doctor? SB 423 discourages doctors from recommending cannabis. Will I end up losing my job? Those who depend upon our medication to stay healthy will be stripped of employment. How can I drive within the law while treating my illness? As an epileptic, I haven't been able to legally drive for years. Now I can legally obtain my license. I know my THC levels are over the legal limit, even though I'm not impaired in any way. I don't want to go to jail, but SB 423 seems to express that is where Jeff Essman would like all of us "hopheads" to be. This is my last chance to live a normal life! Even with the gray areas in I-148, I knew how to stay legal by state law. With SB 423, I have no idea how that is even possible. Sarah Baugh Helena - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.