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Iowa - Patients and medical experts told lawmakers Wednesday about the positive uses of medical marijuana, arguing the medical community and public could benefit from the drug. Relatives of patients with epilepsy and cancer who testified Wednesday before the Senate Commerce Committee and the Senate Ways and Means Committee told lawmakers they've exhausted all their options for pain-relieving and seizure-related drugs.
They say medical marijuana can ease the side effects of drugs already taken or in ways other drugs cannot. "I like to garden, and spend time with family, but my favorite thing is playing with my grandkids, but please remember as I read this that I have been a criminal," said Connie Norgart. She told members of the Senate Commerce Committee that she's on the highest dose of methadone she can take to relieve herself from chronic muscle pain brought on by post-polio syndrome. The methadone comes with side effects like fatigue and depression. She then told everyone in the room that she smoked marijuana.
"Last year I tried cannabis for two months, within two months I had weaned myself off of all my pain meds. Kids noticed a big change in me such as more alert and happier," said Norgart. Dr. Tom Carlstrom is a retired neurosurgeon. He said he has taken care of seizure patients for 40 years. "It is a known fact marijuana will help with seizure control when all others, don't," said Carlstrom. No Republican senators backed the medical marijuana bill when it was introduced.
Sen. Jake Chapman said he has concerns about bypassing federal law at the state level and how such a program would be regulated. "Will this lead to full legalization of marijuana, and certainly that brings a lot of heartburn to a lot of legislators," said Chapman. Even lawmakers who support medical marijuana legislation has acknowledged it won't pass this session, but Sen. Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, says he hopes to educate lawmakers on its positive uses and hopefully legalize it next year. McCoy said less than one percent of the population in Iowa would even qualify for medical marijuana, which would likely focus on specific diagnoses like seizures, cancer, AIDS, PTSD, spinal cord injuries and pain management.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Kcci.com
Author: Mark Tauscheck
Contact: Contact Us - KCCI NewsChannel 8 - Des Moines, Central Iowa
Website: Lawmaker hopes to legalize medical marijuana next year | Local News - KCCI Home
They say medical marijuana can ease the side effects of drugs already taken or in ways other drugs cannot. "I like to garden, and spend time with family, but my favorite thing is playing with my grandkids, but please remember as I read this that I have been a criminal," said Connie Norgart. She told members of the Senate Commerce Committee that she's on the highest dose of methadone she can take to relieve herself from chronic muscle pain brought on by post-polio syndrome. The methadone comes with side effects like fatigue and depression. She then told everyone in the room that she smoked marijuana.
"Last year I tried cannabis for two months, within two months I had weaned myself off of all my pain meds. Kids noticed a big change in me such as more alert and happier," said Norgart. Dr. Tom Carlstrom is a retired neurosurgeon. He said he has taken care of seizure patients for 40 years. "It is a known fact marijuana will help with seizure control when all others, don't," said Carlstrom. No Republican senators backed the medical marijuana bill when it was introduced.
Sen. Jake Chapman said he has concerns about bypassing federal law at the state level and how such a program would be regulated. "Will this lead to full legalization of marijuana, and certainly that brings a lot of heartburn to a lot of legislators," said Chapman. Even lawmakers who support medical marijuana legislation has acknowledged it won't pass this session, but Sen. Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, says he hopes to educate lawmakers on its positive uses and hopefully legalize it next year. McCoy said less than one percent of the population in Iowa would even qualify for medical marijuana, which would likely focus on specific diagnoses like seizures, cancer, AIDS, PTSD, spinal cord injuries and pain management.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Kcci.com
Author: Mark Tauscheck
Contact: Contact Us - KCCI NewsChannel 8 - Des Moines, Central Iowa
Website: Lawmaker hopes to legalize medical marijuana next year | Local News - KCCI Home
