April 14, 2010 – Tennessee legislation legalizing the medical use of marijuana by qualified patients was considered by the House Health and Human Resources Committee on Tuesday.

But the legislation’s projected price tag during tight budget times — and not moral or legal considerations — could bring it down.

After the committee heard testimony, the bill was deferred for one week at the request of its sponsor, state Rep. Jeanne Richardson, D-Memphis.

She insisted the legislation was all about compassion.

“It is really up to everyone to know this is no longer a fringe issue…” Richardson said while presenting the bill. “Cheech and Chong smoking a bong. … That is not the issue here. … We will eventually pass this bill.”

She said polls are showing 81 percent support for medical marijuana.

In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, making that state the first in the union to allow for the medical use of marijuana. Since then, 14 more states have enacted similar laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

Still, at the federal level, marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, making distribution of marijuana a federal offense.

However, in October 2009, the NCSL said President Barack Obama’s administration sent a memo to federal prosecutors encouraging them not to prosecute people who distribute marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with state laws.

Medical marijuana advocate Bernie Ellis testified the American Medical Association urged a re-evaluation of that Schedule I classification last year.

Under the Tennessee bill, those medically eligible to use marijuana would include cancer and Alzheimer’s patients, HIV and hepatitis C patients, people with chronic pain, and anyone having a medical condition resulting in hospice enrollment.

“We want cannabis available to very ill Tennesseans. … It should be allowed for use for very serious conditions…” said Ellis, who crafted the legislation. “There are 300,000 sick Tennesseans who would thank you (if the legislation passes).”

The bill would also establish a program to allow a patient to receive a prescription for medical marijuana from a practitioner, and the patient would need a program identification card from the Department of Health.

Participating pharmacies would distribute medical marijuana, and the cost to the patient would be about $60 an ounce. Licensed farmers would grow it, Ellis said.

“There would exist a presumption that a qualifying patient is engaged in the medical use of marijuana if the qualifying patient possesses a program identification card and possesses an amount of marijuana that does not exceed a one-month supply,” the text of the legislation said.

Neither patients nor practitioners would be subject to arrest, according to the bill.

The legislation would also require the legislature to appoint a 13-member select oversight committee on medical marijuana.

State Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, pointed out a number of drugs go through controlled studies and still have serious issues.

“People use (marijuana) for the high they get. For me, that’s the problem,” noted Hensley, a physician.

Richardson’s request to defer the bill was to work on an amendment calling for the state Board of Pharmacy to be the administrator of the medical marijuana program.

The state’s Fiscal Review Office estimated that after the program’s second year, at least 10,000 patients would be registered.

But the office also noted the Departments of Health and Agriculture would need additional staff people during the program’s gradual implementation. Its recurring cost was estimated at about $1.5 million.

For more information go to www.capitol.tn.gov. The bill’s number is HB 2562. By Hank Hayes. Source.

April 11, 2010 – (ANNAPOLIS, Md.) – With no discussion or objections, the Maryland Senate voted 35-12 to pass SB 627, a bill that would allow qualified patients to be recommended medical marijuana by their doctor and receive safe access to their medicine through state-licensed distribution centers. The bill now moves to the House. The General Assembly’s session ends Monday night.

“I’m very proud of my Senate colleagues today for voting to provide some of our most vulnerable residents with the compassion and care that they deserve,” said Sen. David Brinkley (R-Frederick), the bill’s sponsor and a two-time cancer survivor. “Anyone who has watched a loved one suffer from a debilitating illness would agree that we should not stand between doctors and patients, or deprive seriously ill people safe access to a legitimate medicine if it can help them cope with their illness.”

“We think this bill offers the most carefully crafted medical marijuana law in the country,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Silver Spring), one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “It offers legal protection and safe medical access to patients who are desperately in need and takes every possible measure to prevent abuse. I’m hopeful that our colleagues in the House will give this proposal serious consideration, and make Maryland’s medical marijuana law a national model for how to promote medical privacy, social compassion, and security in administration.”

Fourteen other states, including New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maine, have effective medical marijuana laws. This year, more than a dozen other states, including New York, Illinois, Delaware, South Dakota, Arizona, and Kansas, are considering medical marijuana laws. The District Council of Washington, D.C. is working on a medical marijuana law expected to be implemented by the end of this year.

Under current Maryland law, medical marijuana patients are provided with a limited affirmative defense in court, no protection from arrest, and no safe means of access to their medicine. Patients can still be given a $100 fine that results in a criminal conviction. Source.