To Bruce Mirken, denying people in need of marijuana is absurd -if they need it for medical reasons, he believes they should have it.

Mirken, the director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, may see this vision become a reality if the Illinois medical marijuana bill is passed through the General Assembly.

The bill, which was passed by the Senate's Health and Human Services Committee by a 6-4 vote last week, would legalize the use of medical marijuana.

"It's simply crazy that we threaten patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS with arrest or jail for something that may help them," Mirken said. "There's simply no doubt that marijuana relieves nausea, appetitive loss, pain and other troubling symptoms."

The bill itself would allow for patients with such debilitating conditions to grow up to 12 marijuana plants with a physician's approval. According to the bill, qualified patients and their caregivers would be granted an identification card by the Department of Public Health that would allow them to grow cannabis.

Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said he didn't support the medical marijuana bill. He said that doctors report the same chemicals in marijuana can be given and made available in the pill form, which is available with a doctor's permission.

Aside from that, he said it would basically be a step toward condoning cannabis as a legal substance.

"The biggest scare I would have with it is it would be the first step toward the legalization of marijuana," Bost said. "If you legalize it in the state of Illinois, there will be other states around us where it is not legal. Then what other problems might occur?"

The biggest problem, Illinois State Police Master Sergeant Rick Hector said, would be drug enforcement. Distinguishing between those who are using the drug for medical purposes and those who are illegally using it would be difficult line to draw. On top of that, Hector said 12 marijuana plants could yield up to 60 pounds of marijuana in a year's time, creating a surplus that could turn into illegal drug transactions.

"We really feel the potential for abusing this would be pretty high," Hector said.

"It will definitely make it more complicated for law enforcement officers to make legitimate cases about who is in violation."

Kyle Doty, a junior studying agribusiness economics from Noble, said proper usage would be the key if the law were to take effect.

"I think it's fine for the people who need it as long as it doesn't cause a problem for the rest of society," Doty said. "There could be problems; they should regulate how it's done and keep an eye on the people who have it."

If passed, Senate Bill 2568 would make Illinois the twelfth state to allow marijuana use for medical reasons. Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington are states that currently protect medical marijuana.

Mirken said it shouldn't stop there, either; medical marijuana protection should be across the board.

He said marijuana, although it can be a risk to use, is safer than some over-the-counter and prescription drugs. He said it is impossible to overdose on marijuana, whereas a 10-year-old could readily buy enough Tylenol to overdose and kill a whole classroom of kids.

"Obviously, no system devised by humans is perfect," Mirken said. "I can't assure no one will cheat, just like with prescription drugs. But you don't keep helpful treatments away from someone who needs them because someone else doesn't know how to use it."

Newshawk: Richard Lake
Pubdate: Fri, 24 Feb 2006
Source: Daily Egyptian (Southern Illinois U., IL Edu)
Page: Front Page
Copyright: 2006 Daily Egyptian
Contact: editor@siu.edu
Website: http://www.dailyegyptian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/779
Author: Jordan Wilson, Daily Egyptian
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project http://www.mpp.org
Graphic: showing states with medical marijuana laws and states where
efforts to pass laws are under way
http://www.mapinc.org/images/medicalmarijuana.jpg