Medical Marijuana

At the request of the Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) the Senate made several changes to house bill to make it more conservative. The Senate removed a provision that would allow qualified patients to grow their own marijuana and dropped the number of dispensaries allowed to only four. The Senate also amended the bill to restrict the number of conditions that medical marijuana could be legally used to treat. The bill would create a very tightly regulated medical marijuana system.

Since the two chambers approved different versions of the bill they will either go conference to reach an agreement on a final compromise or the House can simply adopt the Senate version.

The legislature will soon send some version of the bill to the governor’s desk that she will find acceptable and sign into law. Over the past several years the legislature has approved similar medical marijuana bills only to have them vetoed by the former governor who was recently replaced in the last election.

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The poll found supermajority support for medical marijuana in New York across the board. Every age range, partisan group, income bracket, ethnicity, and region overwhelmingly thinks sick people should be allowed to use medical marijuana if their physician believes it would help them. There is effectively no significant group in the state that opposes it.

It is a rare issue with complete bipartisan support. The poll found 81 percent of Democrats and 81 percent of Republicans think medical marijuana should be legal.

Currently, there are proposed bills pending in both the Assembly (A06357) and Senate (S04406) to adopt medical marijuana. If the legislature actually listens to the will of the electorate they would approve the bills.

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Medical Marijuana

The bill would create a medical marijuana pilot program in the state for the next four years. People with a specific list of serious medical conditions will be able register with the Department of Public Health as medical marijuana patients with their doctor’s recommendation. These patients would be allowed to possesses up to 2.5 ounces.

The qualified patients would be able to obtain medical marijuana from a system of dispensaries that would be established. The bill would limit the maximum number of dispensaries to 60. Patients would not be allowed to grow their own.

The bill now head to Gov. Pat Quinn (D) for his signature. While Quinn has not officially taken a position on the bill yet his statements seem to indicate he will likely sign it.

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Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley

This makes Maryland the 19th state to technically adopt a medical marijuana law.

Unfortunately, because of the many restrictions in the law this may be more of a psychological victory than a practical one.  There is a chance no one in the state will really benefit.

To begin with, the law is unlikely to be implemented until 2016. In addition it only allows academic medical centers to take part in what is technically only a trial program. The trials would be the only source for patients to get medical marijuana and there is a real chance that none of the academic medical centers in the state will want to take part. Already several of the state’s most prominent medical centers have indicated they are not interested.

At the very least, the new law shows the issue of medical marijuana is moving forward. Hopefully, it will put more pressure on the federal government to seriously consider a petition by governors to reschedule marijuana.

Ending the war on drugs requires more than simply rephrasing and so far that is basically all Obama has done.

While it is true that the Obama’s 2014 budget slightly increased the amount spent on treatment relative to the amount spent on enforcement compared to last year, the ratio is still 58 percent on enforcement and 42 percent on treatment. By comparison, this is the same ratio it was at the end of George W. Bush’s presidency.

There is a lot Obama could unilaterally do to truly reduce the drug war. He could call for a true shift in federal spending. He could promise the federal law enforcement would take a hands-off approach in states that legalize marijuana. He could tell federal agencies to stop preventing FDA approved research of medical marijuana. He could reschedule marijuana. So far he has done none of these thing,s even though they all have popular support.

Instead, Obama wants to keep the drug war policies going but get credit for just putting a new name on it.

Illinois State Capitol

On Wednesday the Illinois House of Representatives gave final approval to a medical marijuana bill. HB 1, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act, was passed in a vote of 61 yea to 59 nay.

If the bill becomes law it will created a four year medical marijuana pilot program in the state. The whole new system would be highly regulated. Individuals diagnosed with certain debilitating medical conditions will be able to register with the Department of Public Health and allowed to legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of medical marijuana.

The bill now goes to the Senate where its chances are good. The Senate previously approved a medical marijuana bill in 2009 but it died in the House that year.

So far, Gov. Pat Quinn (D) hasn’t definitely said what he would do if the bill reached his desk but he recently told reporters he is “open minded” about the issue.

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While O’Malley opposed a similar legislation in the past due to concerns about federal interference, earlier this year his administration made it known that he would not stand in the way of this bill. O’Malley is expected to either sign the law or allow it to become law without his signature. Even if theoretically O’Malley did veto the bill, it passed by large enough margins in both chambers that the legislature could override his veto.

The bill would produce one of the tightest and most highly regulated medical marijuana systems in the United States. It would establish a Medical Marijuana Commission to oversee the issue. Academic medical centers could apply to run medical marijuana compassionate use programs. Qualified patients would be able to get therapeutic marijuana from these approved medical centers. It will likely take several years for the system is up and running.

Assuming the bill soon becomes law, Maryland will be the 19th state with some form of medical marijuana.

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Maryland State House

Medical marijuana took a very important step forward in Maryland today. The state House of Delegates approved HB 1101 in an overwhelming vote of 108 yes to 28 no. The legislation now moves on to the state Senate for consideration where its chances of passage look good.

If the bill is approved it would create a very limited and highly regulated medical marijuana system in the state. The bill would establish a Medical Marijuana Commission. Academic medical centers could apply to the commission to run medical marijuana compassionate use programs. Qualified patients with specific medical conditions would be allowed to get therapeutic marijuana from these medical centers. Even if the bill is approved, it would likely take a few years before the system would be fully implemented

Efforts to get medical marijuana approved in Maryland received a very big boost earlier this month when Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) administration dropped its objection. Last year O’Malley said he would veto a proposed medical marijuana bill because of threats that the federal government would possibly go after state employees who take part in administrating medical marijuana programs. Over the past year the possible federal prosecutions have not materialized in other states so the administration feels more comfortable about allowing medical marijuana to go forward.

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Efforts to getting medical marijuana legalized in Florida recently received a huge boost. Two important political fundraisers  in Florida decided to get behind an effort to put medical marijuana on the ballot in 2014. From Reuters:

“I’m prepared to keep raising money and writing checks until I get the signatures to put it on the ballot,” attorney John Morgan said late on Tuesday.

Morgan, who routinely hosts presidents and national political figures at his Orlando-area home, recently signed on as chairman of People United for Medical Marijuana-Florida, a grassroots campaign that operated on a shoestring until now.

Morgan was recruited by Ben Pollara, a lobbyist and fundraiser for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Pollara recently became treasurer of the medical marijuana campaign.

There are only two real hurdles in the way of medical marijuana in Florida.

The first is that it is very hard to get on the ballot in the state. Placing a constitutional amendment on the ballot requires roughly 680,000 valid signatures. While that is a difficult goal, it is one that can easily be overcome with enough money to fund a large campaign and hire a signature gathering operation. Having these two proven political fundraisers behind the efforts means the chances of making the ballot improved dramatically.

The second hurdle is that Florida law only allows citizens to put constitutional amendments on the ballot. Unlike many other states that only require a simple majority for victory, in Florida a constitutional ballot measure must get 60 percent of the vote to be approved. Fortunately, polling from last month found that medical marijuana currently has 70 percent support among Florida voters. If a measure qualifies for the ballot, it currently stands a good chance of getting enough votes to be adopted.

At the moment, getting medical marijuana approved in Florida next year is looking very promising.

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New Hampshire State House

The legal use of medical marijuana in New Hampshire just took a big step towards becoming a reality today. The New Hampshire House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved HB 573 in a 286 to 64 vote.

The bill would allow people with certain serious medical conditions to use medical marijuana if they get a doctor’s recommendation. Patients and caregivers would be required to register with the state. Patients would be allowed to grow up to three plants. The law would also allow for the creation of five non-profit alternative treatment centers where qualified patients could get access to medical marijuana.

Now that the bill has passed the House it moves on to the Senate where its chances of passage appear very good. Both the House and Senate approved a similar medical marijuana bill back in 2012 but it was vetoed by then Governor John Lynch (D). Lynch has since been replaced by Gov. Maggie Hassan (D). The new governor is a supporter of medical marijuana, having voted for it while serving in the state legislature.

If all goes as expected medical marijuana will soon be legal in New Hampshire.