Pubdate: Tue, 09 Feb 2016
Source: Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
Copyright: 2016 The Salt Lake Tribune
Contact:  http://www.sltrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/383
Author: Doug Rice

MADSEN'S CANNABIS BILL IS THE BEST

As parent of a child with epilepsy, I have been following the 
Legislature's cannabis bills closely. While I commend Rep. Brad Daw 
and Sen. Evan Vickers for their interest and their bill, I feel Sen. 
Mark Madsen is closer to hitting the bulls-eye.

Plenty of studies show cannabis works better as a whole plant. 
Madsen's bill, Senate Bill 73, tightly regulates "whole plant" 
medical cannabis, so the nightmares touted by recent op-ed pieces are 
not likely to happen. SB73 doesn't legalize smoking cannabis or 
growing your own. It regulates growing locations to prevent growing 
in residential zones. It's for medical purposes under a doctor's 
supervision, not for recreational purposes. I doubt any doctor would 
jeopardize their license by allowing cavalier use of cannabis under 
their direction.

We currently use CBD legally with a Utah Hemp registry card, but 
we're still seeing seizures; and no seizure is a good one. We tried a 
CBD-THC combo while in Colorado, and our child went seizure-free for 
the first time in years. Call it anecdotal, but it's a huge thing for 
us. Thousands of other patients could benefit from SB73, compared to 
hundreds from the other bill. And a recent Dan Jones poll showed 61 
percent of Utahns favor the legalization of medical cannabis.

I hope Utah's legislators show they are truly representing the desire 
of the people, and pass SB73.

Doug Rice

West Jordan
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom