Pubdate: Mon, 04 Jan 2016
Source: South Bend Tribune (IN)
Copyright: 2016 South Bend Tribune
Contact:  http://www.southbendtribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/621
Author: Jeff Parrott

ANOTHER PUSH FOR MEDICAL POT IN INDIANA NOT LIKELY TO WORK

Odds Against Indiana Legislators Backing Medical Marijuana

The husband and father was near death from Crohn's Disease in 2009.

Over a three-month period, his weight dropped from about 175 pounds 
to 117 pounds. He had his large intestine, colon and rectum removed, 
and he was largely confined to his bed or a chair.

He had no appetite and was surviving largley on IV fluid. He was so 
worried about accidentally jarring the stapled incision in his 
abdomen that his muscles ached from the constant tension.

Marijuana had just been legalized for medical use that year. At his 
wife's suggestion, he tried smoking some, first illegally because he 
wanted to see whether it helped him before he went through the 
process of applying for a legal permit.

"It was amazing," recalled the man, who lives in Michigan, just a few 
miles from the Indiana line. "Instantaneous. I could feel my 
shoulders drop and my body relax. In less than 10 minutes, I was 
feeling the urge in my stomach to eat. I started feeling better. I 
ate more. Started gaining more weight."

It's stories like his that have prompted two Democratic lawmakers, 
Sen. Karen Tallian of Ogden Dunes and Rep. Sue Errington of Muncie, 
to sponsor medical marijuana bills in the Indiana General Assembly 
session that starts Monday. Indiana would join 23 other states in 
legalizing marijuana and become part of a national debate over the 
medical merits.

The odds of success for the legislators, however, are not great. 
Bills they introduced in the 2015 session died in committee for lack 
of a hearing. With Republicans in firm control of both houses, 
Tallian isn't overly optimistic 2016 will be any different.

Sen. Joe Zakas, R-Granger, echoes the sentiments of many in his 
party. He stops short of disputing that marijuana can provide relief 
for some medical problems, but he thinks that would be overshadowed 
by a corresponding increase in recreational use and abuse.

"I would listen to the arguments as to its medical use," Zakas said. 
"I just haven't heard a convincing argument on that yet. I want to 
hear the evidence from solid sources that it's a viable medical tool."

Tallian, a criminal defense attorney who thinks it's wasteful to jail 
people for smoking pot when recreational use is now legal in four 
states, had for the past three years introduced bills to 
decriminalize recreational marijuana use. It would still be illegal 
but possessing small amounts would be treated as an infraction, 
similar to a traffic ticket. Her bills have never received a hearing.

In 2015, Tallian changed tack, authoring a bill to legalize medical 
marijuana by creating an Indiana Department of Marijuana Enforcement 
that would regulate it much like pharmaceuticals, in a pilot program 
for people suffering a specific list of ailments.

Her bill also would have allowed Indiana universities and 
pharmaceutical companies to conduct research on medicinal use. 
Errington introduced a companion measure in the House.

In the coming session, Tallian and Errington said they'll introduce 
bills for both decriminalization and medical use. Tallian said she 
would be willing to drop the decriminalization component if it meant 
finally getting a hearing for medical use.

"We move by inches down there, so I'd take every inch I could get," 
she said. "I have a lot of votes over there on the Republican side if 
I could just get a hearing."

Last session, her bill was assigned to the Health and Provider 
Services Committee, where chair Patricia Miller, R-Indianapolis, 
declined to give it a hearing. Miller was unavailable for comment.

"Pat Miller kept saying, 'We don't have enough proof yet" that 
marijuana offers medicinal benefits, Tallian said. "That's because we 
haven't had the opportunity to do research."

Her bill has yet to be assigned a committee for the 2016 session.

'A buzz or a high'

Asked to identify a supportive Republican, Tallian mentioned Sen. Jim 
Tomes of Poseyville, a small, rural town outside Evansville. Tomes 
this year introduced a bill to legalize the growing of hemp, a form 
of marijuana that lacks THC, the drug that gives marijuana smokers a high.

In addition to a variety of industrial textile uses, hemp can produce 
cannabis oil, which has a well-documented record of alleviating 
seizures in children with epilepsy.

Tomes said parents of children with epilepsy have increasingly turned 
to him for their cause.

"This is extremely different than what Sen. Tallian is trying to do," 
said Tomes, who doesn't support legalizing medical marijuana.

"I understand there are certain applications and I'm not taking that 
away from anyone," he added. "But it also has the ability to give 
people a buzz or a high. That's a factor I just cannot support."

The concept has found more traction in other states. Illinois 
recently launched a Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, allowing 13 
licensed dispensaries to open around the state. Sales began in 
November to about 3,900 licensed patients.

Kentucky last year became one of 18 states that allows use or 
research of cannabis oil for seizure treatment.

Ohio voters last month overwhelming rejected a ballot initiative to 
legalize recreational use, but observers have attributed that more to 
the fact that the right to produce and distributge marijuana would 
have been concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy producers.

In the coming year, recreational marijuana may be on the ballot in 11 
states, including Michigan, according to Ballotpedia, a website that 
tracks ballots issues nationwide. Another five states might consider 
medical pot initiatives.

Sen. John Broden, D-South Bend, said he isn't ready to commit to 
supporting medical marijuana, but he hopes it will at least receive a 
committee hearing in the coming session.

"For me, it's very important that it be very narrowly tailored so it 
does address medical issues, it's administered by the health care 
community or by a doctor," Broden said. "I'm certainly open to 
hearing about it."

Conducting committee hearings would allow testimony from officials in 
other states that have legalized medical marijuana, such as law 
enforcement officials in Michigan.

"If these other states have had positive experiences or at least not 
had negative experiences ... that would be critical for me," he said.

When asked whether she knew of any doctors who wish they could 
legally prescribe marijuana, Errington pointed to Dr. Bruce Ippel, a 
66-year-old family practice physician near Muncie. Over his 40 years 
as a doctor, Ippel said, many of his patients have reported using 
marijuana for relief from ailments such as headaches and migraines, 
as well as appetite stimulation for people with cancer and chronic 
intestinal illness from diabetes.

He isn't sure if medical marijuana will become legal in Indiana in 
his lifetime. But while admitting he's cynical, Ippel thinks Indiana 
lawmakers eventually will legalize marijuana so that they can tax it 
and grow state revenue. Colorado collected almost $70 million in 
marijana taxes last fiscal year, nearly double the $42 million 
collected from alcohol taxes, according to Time magazine.

Ippel noted that even in Indiana, society has grown more tolerant of pot.

"The landscape has changed," he said. "Twenty years ago, anyone using 
marijuana was at high risk of being locked up. Indiana law 
enforcement agencies have largely backed off common users. I think 
that's a change in the last six to eight years that's been a benefit."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom