Apr 16, 2008 11:16 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Prescription Pot Fight
(WCCO)
Any day now Minnesota lawmakers could vote on a landmark law to legalize marijuana for medicinal use. The fight over it is pitting law enforcement against doctors and patients.
The vast majority of Americans support making marijuana available to seriously ill patients, but it's not the same as legalizing pot.
"It's not OK to break the law," said Lynn Nicholson in a TV ad produced by the Marijuana Policy Project. "It's not. But here I am doing it."
It's TRUE.
It's illegal for people like Lynn Nicholson to smoke pot in Minnesota for disease or injury. Even though doctors say it relieves the kind of chronic pain she's been suffering since breaking her back as a child.
"If we are going to have a war on marijuana in this country," said Neal Levine of the Marijuana Policy Project. "The least we can do is pull the sick and the dying off the battlefield. And this is a compassionate piece of legislation that aims to do just that."
Here's what you NEED TO KNOW about the Minnesota proposal.
Patients could qualify for up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for disease or injury. The list includes severe cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV and debilitating injuries.
Doctors would only be able to recommend it, but could not prescribe it since that's against federal law.
But that's NOT THE WHOLE STORY.
There's some dispute over how effective medicinal marijuana really is. The Mayo Clinic reports it can help with glaucoma, nausea and pain relief.
However, it also might increase the risks, if you smoke it, for heart disease and respiratory ailments.
The REALITY is there's a stigma to pot smoking, and law enforcement agencies oppose it. Law enforcement claim it will increase the chances for drug abuse.
If approved, up to 1,500 Minnesotans might be eligible to get pot from 30 licensed agencies.
"The pain was just so bad I couldn't stand it," said Nicholson in the ad. "I'm in more and more pain all the time. It's gotten to the point where I spend most of the time in bed."
IN FACT...
Twelve states already allow the use of medical marijuana. New York and Illinois are debating it, and in Michigan it's on the ballot this fall. However, in Minnesota it could go up in smoke. Gov. Tim Pawlenty is threatening to veto it.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources for this Reality Check click on the links below:
Polling Report: Illegal Drugs
Marijuana Policy Project
Senate Bill: Medical Use of Marijuana
House Panel Revives Bill On Medical Marijuana
Drug Policy Alliance: Medical Marijuana
Drug Free Schools Coalition
Mayo Clinic: Marijuana as medicine: Consider the pros and cons
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
