WILLMAR -- The Willmar Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday to consider a conditional use permit requested by retired veterinarian Dr. Marshall Brinton to allow a medical marijuana production lab/dispensary. Brinton has requested the permit to operate the production lab/dispensary in laboratory facilities he owns at 208 Lakeland Dr. S.E. The hearing will be held in the meeting room at the Willmar Fire Station, 515 Second St. S.E. City Planner Megan DeSchepper said the conditional use permit is required because medical marijuana production is not listed as a land use in any section of the city zoning ordinance. [continues 232 words]
Entrepreneur Behind Proposal Driven by Child's Urgent Need MONTEVIDEO -- No sooner had Governor Mark Dayton signed the bill legalizing medical marijuana in Minnesota than Jeremy Pauling was lining up support to build the first facility to produce it in Montevideo. "I was brought up not to sit on my hands," said Pauling. There's another reason for his urgency. His seven year-old-daughter Katelyn suffers chronic seizures due to Batten Disease. It's an inherited and fatal neurological disease. [continues 725 words]
ST. PAUL - Minnesota farmers are happy that lawmakers lowered some farm property taxes, but small businesses complain that a higher minimum wage and a bill giving them more legal exposure will hurt. Dry southwestern Minnesotans think they may get Missouri River water, but some rural residents fear they will not have the access to medical marijuana of their big-city cousins. In short, the story greater Minnesota residents heard from the 2014 Legislature was mixed. Among the biggest accomplishments lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton proclaimed after the session ended was lowering property taxes for Minnesotans who live on their farms. It will not be enough to buy a new tractor, but supporters of the measure say the $200 farmers will save is good news. [continues 477 words]
MONTEVIDEO -- Now that it appears medical cannabis will be legalized in Minnesota, Montevideo is aiming to be among the first communities to host a manufacturing and distribution center. The Montevideo City Council will take up a resolution on Monday in support of the construction of a medical cannabis manufacturing and distribution facility within the city, according to information from City Manager Steve Jones. "The city of Montevideo has the land and infrastructure in place and (is) 'shovel-ready' to support the construction of a manufacturing and distribution facility," according to the resolution. [continues 153 words]
ST. PAUL -- Medical marijuana is a couple of steps away from being allowed in Minnesota. The House late this afternoon approved a slimmed down measure in 86-39 vote. Senators passed their broader bill 48-18 Tuesday. The two bills likely will head to House-Senate negotiators to craft a measure Gov. Mark Dayton can sign. Dayton says he needs to know more about the House bill before he can say if he could sign it. The Senate measure, which law enforcement leaders oppose, allows far more marijuana distribution centers and other provisions Dayton and police cannot accept. [continues 357 words]
ST. PAUL -- The Minnesota House takes up medical marijuana today in what could be a debate lasting well into the night while pieces fall into place on tax and spending bills as the Minnesota Legislature nears the end of its 2014 session. Debate on the much-discussed proposal to allow children with seizures and adults with extreme pain to use marijuana extracts is expected to begin in the early afternoon, and could last hours. Senators overwhelmingly approved a more liberal bill earlier in the week, but it may go too far for Gov. Mark Dayton to sign it into law. [continues 488 words]
ST. PAUL -- Amelia Weaver gets a legislative hearing for her eighth birthday today. Her parents, Josh and Angie of Hibbing, hope it is a happy birthday for their daughter with Dravet syndrome, which causes frequent seizures. Today's hearing could be a big step to allow using parts of the marijuana plant to control those seizures, as well as other serious medical conditions in people of all ages. The House rules committee takes up the medical marijuana issue, which has been stalled in another committee for weeks as law enforcement organizations, prosecutors and some doctors opposed it. What supporters call a compromise bill emerged Thursday and the committee will consider it today, with the prospects of moving the issue to a full House vote next week. [continues 549 words]
ST. PAUL -- A Minnesota House committee approved the use of marijuana to help suffering patients after 7-year-old Amelia Beaver provided an example Tuesday night of why some want the practice legalized. Advertisement The girl suffered a seizure, one of 30 she suffers a day, while her mother told the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Policy Committee on Tuesday that marijuana could help her daughter. "It would be the best day of my life if I could hear my daughter say 'momma' again," Angie Beaver of Hibbing said, adding that there is evidence that marijuana can help some patients regain speech and reduce seizures. [continues 558 words]
Is marijuana an effective treatment for pain, illness and disease? It's a question many Minnesota physicians are pondering as the Legislature prepares to debate a measure that would allow doctors to prescribe some form of the drug. Mayo Clinic psychiatrist Michael Bostwick reviewed more than 100 medical studies and reports on the possible benefits and risks of marijuana. He published his findings in February 2012 in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Bostwick said most marijuana studies are not high-quality because they're not randomized, controlled studies -- the kind the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires to approve any new medication. [continues 585 words]
WILLMAR - Dan Hartog doesn't look forward to the hassles that law enforcement officials predict will happen if the medical use of marijuana is legalized in Minnesota. "Who's overseeing it? What's the control on it?" wondered Hartog, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff. Jim Kulset, Willmar Police Chief, is concerned about the impact if a medical marijuana bill, currently working its way through the Legislature, passes this year. "I think you open up a whole can of worms with it," he said. [continues 657 words]
NORTHFIELD, Minn. -- Northfield's acting police chief said Thursday that high school students here are indeed using heroin, despite criticism that a police announcement about the use of the hardcore drug was exaggerated. "I believe this is a problem in Northfield. I think there is no question about that," acting Chief Roger Schroeder said after a meeting with school and health officials. "We are trying to get our hands around it and find a solution." He added: "One child or student using heroin is too many." [continues 507 words]
ST. PAUL -- Minnesota senators narrowly voted Tuesday to allow some patients in extreme pain to smoke marijuana, and the House author of the measure predicted a narrow victory, but Gov. Tim Pawlenty promises to veto any such bill. The 33-31 Senate vote followed a debate that featured supporters who said they want to ease people's pain fighting those who worried that allowing medical marijuana would lead to more widespread use of it. "There is not a person on the Senate floor or a person in the state of Minnesota who hasn't witnessed ... somebody in their world affected by a debilitating disease that medicinal marijuana could possibly help," Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said. [continues 388 words]
