Robert Celt
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Three-year-old Eliyah Hendrickson's body tenses up and convulses.
His eyes move without his control.
His arms and legs spasm as though trying to escape his torso.
The toddler is seizing, a symptom of Dravet syndrome. It happens four times a day, and that's on a good day, his father George Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson, told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday about the mutation of his son's SCN1A gene and about how much it pains him as a dad not to have the resources to stop his son's pain. He said without their passage of a bill that could legalize small amounts of marijuana for medical use, his son would continue to deteriorate.
"I'm holding my child in my arms and watching him die," Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson testified along with a dozen others in favor of legalizing small amounts of marijuana for people with certain diseases. He said the drug, if legalized for medical use, could help Eliyah stop seizing and could reverse some of his mental regression, which has left him unable to crawl, talk or play.
Under the bill, those suffering from a number of chronic diseases would be qualified to register for the state's permission to possess up to three ounces of cannabis.
While it appeared last week that the state wouldn't hear arguments for legalizing cannabis for medical use as Secretary of State Shantel Krebs rejected a proposed ballot measure that would do just that for lack of sufficient approved signatures, emotional appeals to committee members Wednesday could convince the body to move the measure to the floor next week.
But state law enforcement groups and a representative of the state pharmacy board opposed the measure, saying medical marijuana hasn't undergone much testing and could serve as a gateway drug. Not to mention, a South Dakota Sheriffs' Association spokesman added, it could impede the constitutional requirements for law enforcement officers.
"The bill that we are looking at in its present form wouldn't allow me to do my duty," Barry Hillestad, Day County Sheriff, said.
Another opponent, Rep. Leslie Heinemann, R-Flandreau, said though medical marijuana could help him deal with his multiple sclerosis, legalizing medical marijuana was the wrong choice for South Dakota.
"No one in the medical community is asking for this drug today to be legalized," Heinemann said.
Committee chairman Sen. Rempelberg defered a vote to next Wednesday so that the committee can hear additional remarks.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard has said he opposes the bill.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Emotional Testimony On Medical Marijuana Could Sway Lawmakers
Author: Dana Ferguson
Contact: Argus Leader
Photo Credit: Joe Ahlquist
Website: Argus Leader
His eyes move without his control.
His arms and legs spasm as though trying to escape his torso.
The toddler is seizing, a symptom of Dravet syndrome. It happens four times a day, and that's on a good day, his father George Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson, told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday about the mutation of his son's SCN1A gene and about how much it pains him as a dad not to have the resources to stop his son's pain. He said without their passage of a bill that could legalize small amounts of marijuana for medical use, his son would continue to deteriorate.
"I'm holding my child in my arms and watching him die," Hendrickson said.
Hendrickson testified along with a dozen others in favor of legalizing small amounts of marijuana for people with certain diseases. He said the drug, if legalized for medical use, could help Eliyah stop seizing and could reverse some of his mental regression, which has left him unable to crawl, talk or play.
Under the bill, those suffering from a number of chronic diseases would be qualified to register for the state's permission to possess up to three ounces of cannabis.
While it appeared last week that the state wouldn't hear arguments for legalizing cannabis for medical use as Secretary of State Shantel Krebs rejected a proposed ballot measure that would do just that for lack of sufficient approved signatures, emotional appeals to committee members Wednesday could convince the body to move the measure to the floor next week.
But state law enforcement groups and a representative of the state pharmacy board opposed the measure, saying medical marijuana hasn't undergone much testing and could serve as a gateway drug. Not to mention, a South Dakota Sheriffs' Association spokesman added, it could impede the constitutional requirements for law enforcement officers.
"The bill that we are looking at in its present form wouldn't allow me to do my duty," Barry Hillestad, Day County Sheriff, said.
Another opponent, Rep. Leslie Heinemann, R-Flandreau, said though medical marijuana could help him deal with his multiple sclerosis, legalizing medical marijuana was the wrong choice for South Dakota.
"No one in the medical community is asking for this drug today to be legalized," Heinemann said.
Committee chairman Sen. Rempelberg defered a vote to next Wednesday so that the committee can hear additional remarks.
Gov. Dennis Daugaard has said he opposes the bill.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Emotional Testimony On Medical Marijuana Could Sway Lawmakers
Author: Dana Ferguson
Contact: Argus Leader
Photo Credit: Joe Ahlquist
Website: Argus Leader