Hedlund Favors Allowing Medical Use Of Marijuana; Bill's Passage Would Make Mass. Latest State To Legalize BOSTON - A state senator from the South Shore is among those hoping Massachusetts follows the lead of Rhode Island and Maine by legalizing marijuana for medical use. On Tuesday, Rhode Island became the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana and the first to do so since the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that patients who use the drug still may be prosecuted under federal law. [continues 485 words]
Hedlund Favors Allowing Medical Use Of Marijuana; Bill's Passage Would Make Mass. Latest State To Legalize BOSTON - A state senator from the South Shore is among those hoping Massachusetts follows the lead of Rhode Island and Maine by legalizing marijuana for medical use. On Tuesday, Rhode Island became the 11th state to legalize medical marijuana and the first to do so since the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that patients who use the drug still may be prosecuted under federal law. State Sen. Robert Hedlund, R-Weymouth, is co-sponsoring a bill that calls for allowing people to grow and use small amounts of marijuana for medical reasons. Hedlund said he has heard many stories from ill people, including a close friend with glaucoma, who say marijuana eased their pain. €'€'I know it's anecdotal, but I believe him," Hedlund said. €'€'I'm not in favor of the full-blown legalization or decriminalization of marijuana, but I think there should be a dialogue about whether there's a medical benefit to this." Jim Cook of Quincy said marijuana was the only thing that gave relief to his brother Alan when he was dying of AIDS in the mid-1980s. Alan Cook lived in Montreal, where people are allowed to smoke marijuana to ease the symptoms of disease or the effects of disease treatments such as chemotherapy. €'€'It is an absolute no-brainer that it should be available to people with terminal illness," Jim Cook said. €'€'The prohibitions against it are an unnecessary intrusion of the government into the private lives of citizens." Cook is a member of the Massachusetts Cannabis Reform Coalition. €'€'In this state, the politicians are just totally out of step with the population," said coalition spokesman and Georgetown attorney Steven Epstein, adding that nonbinding ballot questions endorsing the use of medicinal marijuana have passed in communities across the state. €'€'Everywhere it's been on the ballot, it's won." Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey, the Romney administration's point person on drug policy, had no comment yesterday. [continues 228 words]
