Pubdate: Wed, 30 Apr 2014
Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN)
Copyright: 2014 Star Tribune
Contact: http://www.startribunecompany.com/143
Website: http://www.startribune.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/266
Author: Patrick Condon
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)

MINNESOTA LAW OFFICERS SEEK TO SLOW MEDICAL MARIJUANA EFFORT

Sheriffs, Prosecutors and Cops Hit Back As Legalization Proposal 
Sails Through Various Committees.

Minnesota police officers, sheriffs and prosecutors pushed back hard 
Wednesday against legalizing marijuana for medical use, as a proposal 
to do just that picks up steam in the state Senate.

"It will end up in the hands of our children," said John Kingrey, 
executive director of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association. "It 
will result in more kids being arrested for possession of marijuana. 
We believe it sends the unintended message to our youth that 
marijuana is a safe substance."

A succession of law enforcement officials denounced the proposal at a 
hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee, warning that authorizing 
marijuana for a range of users with a doctor's prescription -- from 
cancer patients to chronic pain sufferers -- would make the drug more 
widely available statewide. They also argued it would be a foot in 
the door for efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use, as 
has recently occurred in Colorado and Washington.

Minnesota law enforcement groups have long opposed legalizing medical 
marijuana, but Wednesday's testimony in the Senate Judiciary 
Committee was their most vocal and uniform pushback. It came as the 
controversial proposal was revived last week in the Senate and is 
rapidly sailing through a series of Senate committees, after sitting 
dormant for much of the session.

After hearing testimony and amendments for more than five hours, the 
Judiciary Committee opted to pass the bill through "without 
recommendation," a practice typically used to keep a bill alive. The 
committee took a voice vote, so individual votes are unknown. The 
bill has at least one more committee stop before it can be voted on 
by the full Senate.

A companion bill in the House, where members are up for re-election 
this year, has been in limbo since March, and shows no similar signs 
of revival. House leaders and Gov. Mark Dayton have resisted attempts 
to resurrect the proposal. Senate passage, however, could keep the 
volatile issue alive right up to the end of the legislative session, 
and complicate DFL leaders' efforts to bring an orderly finish.

The DFL governor has repeatedly cited law enforcement concerns as a 
principal reason for his own opposition. That has drawn scorn from 
the proposal's well-organized supporters, a group of patients seeking 
access to the drug as well as parents of children with severe 
epilepsy, who see it as an effective way to reduce their children's seizures.

Opponents, who include the state health commissioner, have cited the 
lack of scientific research that proves the drug's efficacy as a 
medical treatment.

"People are participating in a criminal enterprise, and they don't 
want to be," said Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, the bill's 
Senate sponsor. By making it legal, he said, "at least they're 
working with a doctor and taking some care in figuring out a path forward."

Law enforcement officials on Wednesday said they would support a 
state-funded study into medical marijuana that Dayton has offered as 
a compromise.

"We want to make it clear today that we want to be part of the 
solution, to help children and adults who are suffering find comfort 
and relief through marijuana," said Andy Skoogman, director of the 
Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom