Pubdate: Sat, 27 Aug 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 Note: Sarah Baugh is treasurer of Patients for Reform-Not Repeal, the ballot issue committee that is seeking signatures to qualify IR-124 for the 2012 election. 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. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.