Pubdate: Tue, 18 Dec 2012
Source: Capital Times, The  (WI)
Copyright: 2012 The Capital Times
Contact:  http://host.madison.com/ct/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/73
Author: Steve Elbow

CHANGING VIEWS GIVE ACTIVIST GARY STORCK HOPE IN HIS LONG PUSH FOR
MEDICAL CANNABIS

Gary Storck has been working for marijuana legalization for a long
time. The 57-year-old Madison resident started to use it as a
medication for glaucoma when he was 17 years old, and it worked.

"I smoked some and went to see my eye doctor and my eye pressures were
normal," he says. "They were usually very elevated when I went in
without using cannabis."

Born with a condition called Noonan syndrome, which causes heart
problems, joint pain and a variety of other health issues, he found
that marijuana - he prefers the term cannabis - relieved a lot of pain
from those ailments as well.

After suffering a life-threatening infection from heart surgery in
1997, Storck became a bonafide activist, crisscrossing the county to
attend protests and conferences and lobbying U.S. lawmakers. In 2004
Storck co-founded Madison NORML, the National Organization for the
Reform of Marijuana Laws. He also co-founded Wisconsin NORML and IMMLY
(Is My Medicine Legal Yet?).

In 2007, local marijuana users were heartened when then-Dane County
District Attorney Brian Blanchard announced his office would no longer
prosecute casual users, a policy that remains in place.

In 2009, when Democrats controlled state government, Storck and other
activists were able to convince state Rep. Mark Pocan and state Sen.
Jon Erpenbach to introduce bills that would legalize medical
marijuana. But with no support from then-Assembly Speaker Mike
Sheridan and Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker, the bills died.

Now, even though Republicans rule the roost, Storck is still hopeful.
He and other activists are planning a Capitol lobby day in January.
And although he expects a "tough sell," he's in it for the long haul.

This year, Connecticut and Massachusetts became the 17th and 18th
states to pass medical marijuana laws. And on Nov. 6, Colorado and
Washington stunned the nation by legalizing pot for any adult who
wants to use it.

That, says Storck, is a game changer. It's only a matter of time, he
says, before Wisconsin will have to take a serious look at the issue.

"I've been waiting my entire lifetime for this," he says. "And I
really believe it's here, or it's going to be here soon."

As he recently said in an interview with a Milwaukee radio station,
"The winds of change aren't going to stop at the Wisconsin border."

The Capital Times: You've spent that last 15 years battling for medical
marijuana. Now that Washington and Colorado have ended the prohibition
on pot, does it make more sense to go for full legalization?

Gary Storck: I still believe that patients need to be taken care of
first. But yeah I think that legalization would be better for medical
users because then it wouldn't be a forbidden fruit that only medical
users have. And medical users wouldn't be potential targets, and
dispensaries and things like that wouldn't be targets. They'd just be
another business. So I think that anytime cannabis laws are reduced it
gets easier for patients. Even decriminalization, as minor as that is,
takes some of the fear out for patients possessing small amounts of
cannabis for medical use.

CT: In 2009 most Democrats in the Legislature appeared to be lukewarm
to medical marijuana. Now one of its biggest backers, Mark Pocan, is
heading to Washington, D.C., to serve in the U.S. Congress. Have you
found any lawmakers that are sympathetic to your cause?

GS: Rep. Chris Taylor has already indicated that she'll be taking over
writing the medical bills from Mark Pocan's office, so that bill is
already being looked at and revised from prior sessions. We have some
names in mind but we haven't really talked to anybody yet. So we're
going to go out there and try to see how they feel about this. I think
it's even worth putting the full legalization, tax and regulation out
there and just see where it goes, just to have the discussion started.

CT: But you don't seriously expect Republicans to advance a marijuana
bill?

GS: Cannabis definitely isn't on their agenda. But they do claim to be
about jobs, and they claim to be about business. I'm not just talking
about medical use and recreational, aka social, use. I'm talking about
legalizing the hemp plant so we could have products like hempcrete and
more hemp foods. There would be so many industries, and other states
are going to be passing these laws and getting ahead of us.
Wisconsin's already experiencing a brain drain. Some of our best and
brightest are in the states that have more lenient medical cannabis
laws and now legalization laws. Why should a young person stay in a
state and look for a job here when they could potentially get a felony
for having a couple of joints?

CT: One of the most prevalent arguments against legalization is that
marijuana is a gateway drug. Do you think that people who use
marijuana are more likely to graduate to harder, more harmful, drugs?

GS: Some of the evidence that's developed from medical use shows the
exact opposite. I have a friend in California, he's a retired Army
thoracic surgeon, Dr. Tom O'Connell, and he's been clearing people for
cannabis recommendations in California since it became legal, or close
to that. He gives patients a questionnaire, and his findings, and
other evidence too, are that cannabis is actually a gateway back for
people who are into alcohol and other drugs. They're able to
substitute cannabis for these more harmful substances and move away
from them. Cannabis also works synergistically with medications. So if
you take cannabis and pain medication together you take less of each.
And also many people are able wean themselves off of prescription
medications with cannabis. So really I think if anything, it's a
gateway away from addiction. It's not a gateway into it.

CT: How about those who fear that legalization will increase use by
kids?

GS: There's been a bunch of really great articles online and news
sources lately about children using medical cannabis for cancer and
epilepsy and other things. What about when you're a parent and you're
seeing your kid ill and they're putting them on all these drugs, 15
drugs or something, and it's not helping?

CT: I think what people fear most is recreational use by
kids.

GS: Kids are going to access pot, most likely as teens. I know I did
as a teenager. Actually I began using it to treat my glaucoma at age
17 after stumbling upon it as a treatment for glaucoma. It's probably
not a good idea to expose a developing brain to any kind of drug,
including cannabis or alcohol. But I don't agree with giving all these
kids prescription meds, too. I think it's a Band-Aid approach. Nobody
wants to see kids smoke pot. That's why legalization has been for 21
and over. But if they do use it it's going to be safer for them than
drinking or sharing their prescription meds or their friend's
attention deficit disorder meds.

CT: Despite the fact that it's illegal, you use a considerable amount
of marijuana. Ever have any problems finding it?

GS: Luckily, living in Madison, it's a pretty tolerant town for it so
I haven't really had issues with that for a long time, thankfully,
which is a big thing because this is my medicine. I really don't know
what I'd do without it. I don't know how I could have a quality of
life. It's on the edge every day. If I didn't have cannabis I would
really be in a bad place. 
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