SmokeyMacPot
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Scott Mortimer uses marijuana to relieve crippling lower back pain that has tortured him since he was a teenager, following an operation to correct a spinal defect.
Muscle relaxants left Mortimer, 37, lethargic. Prescription pain relievers, including opiates, caused severe stomach bleeding. Grasping for an alternative, Mortimer began using marijuana in 1995. Although the cannabis relieves his agony, he has taken on a new burden: fear of arrest.
"You don't want to add legal problems to dealing with a serious illness," Mortimer said. "I shouldn't have to break the law to get relief."
Mortimer's worries might end this year.
Massachusetts could become the fourth New England state to legalize medical marijuana under a plan before state lawmakers.
On the heels of Rhode Island's recent approval of medical marijuana use, lawmakers here are pushing a measure, with the support of some Newburyport-area legislators, that would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana. Backers say people who suffer from debilitating pain and chronic diseases should be able to gain relief without fear of arrest, something 11 states have approved.
But the initiative faces high hurdles. It is opposed by the Romney administration. Local lawmakers, aware of the plague of opiate addiction in the Merrimack Valley, want to ensure access to medical marijuana is airtight. Also, marijuana use — even under a doctor's care — is illegal under federal law, and the Supreme Court holds that permissive state laws are trumped by the federal prohibition.
Under the Massachusetts proposal, authored by Brookline Democrat Rep. Frank I. Smizik, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health would certify patients using or growing marijuana, also called cannabis, for medicinal purposes. The state would issue identification cards to patients and also would designate a single caretaker who could handle or grow marijuana for a disabled patient.
Patients would be limited in how much marijuana they could use and grow. Doctors would be restricted in the types of afflictions they could prescribe cannabis for, including HIV/AIDS, severe pain and nausea, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.
Rep. Barbara A. L'Italien, D-Andover, whose district includes part of Georgetown, is a co-sponsor of the bill and one of several North of Boston lawmakers who have expressed support for the proposal. She opposes legalizing marijuana for recreational use but thinks it can help those with serious illnesses.
"I feel very strongly that there are people who have chronic illnesses or pain for whom this seems to bring some measure of relief, and they don't respond to alternatives for pain relief," L'Italien said. "Why wouldn't we want those folks to have relief and some quality of life?"
L'Italien's argument resonates with many area legislators, especially those who have family members or friends who have suffered from long-term ailments.
For Rep. Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury, her mother's losing battle with lung cancer cemented her support for legalized, government-regulated, medical marijuana. Stanley said toward the end of her life her mother might have found relief from marijuana.
State Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, said he would support the bill if changes were made. He wants to see marijuana dispensed in a controlled manner, similar to other prescribed drugs.
"I may have a problem if people are allowed to grow it," he said. "The question is, where are you going to put controls on it? You don't know if children can get at it."
The issue of decriminalizing marijuana — not just for medical purposes — has been raised locally before.
In the 2002 election, voters in towns represented by Costello, Stanley and L'Italien — including Newburyport, Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury — backed a non-binding ballot question to "decriminalize" marijuana. Advocates want marijuana possession treated the same way as running a red light, where a ticket is given to offenders.
The vote instructed Costello, Stanley and L'Italien to file legislation to make marijuana possession a civil offense, and vote in favor of it. None of them filed such a bill.
The debate over legalizing marijuana for medical use kicked up when Rhode Island became the third New England state — along with Maine and Vermont — to pass a medical marijuana law. The Rhode Island law, passed over the governor's veto, lets people grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces. Medical marijuana users must register with the state and get a photo identification card.
With the New England states, 11 states allow marijuana to be grown and used for medicinal purposes. The other states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Even with the state laws, marijuana use and sale can be prosecuted under federal law. The Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts says fear of prosecution makes it difficult to know how many use marijuana to cope with long-term pain and disease.
Source: Newburyport Daily News (MA)
Author: Edward Mason, Staff Writer
Published: Monday, January 16, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Eagle Tribune Publishing Company
Website: https://www.ecnnews.com/nt/
Contact: online_editor@EagleTribune.com
Muscle relaxants left Mortimer, 37, lethargic. Prescription pain relievers, including opiates, caused severe stomach bleeding. Grasping for an alternative, Mortimer began using marijuana in 1995. Although the cannabis relieves his agony, he has taken on a new burden: fear of arrest.
"You don't want to add legal problems to dealing with a serious illness," Mortimer said. "I shouldn't have to break the law to get relief."
Mortimer's worries might end this year.
Massachusetts could become the fourth New England state to legalize medical marijuana under a plan before state lawmakers.
On the heels of Rhode Island's recent approval of medical marijuana use, lawmakers here are pushing a measure, with the support of some Newburyport-area legislators, that would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana. Backers say people who suffer from debilitating pain and chronic diseases should be able to gain relief without fear of arrest, something 11 states have approved.
But the initiative faces high hurdles. It is opposed by the Romney administration. Local lawmakers, aware of the plague of opiate addiction in the Merrimack Valley, want to ensure access to medical marijuana is airtight. Also, marijuana use — even under a doctor's care — is illegal under federal law, and the Supreme Court holds that permissive state laws are trumped by the federal prohibition.
Under the Massachusetts proposal, authored by Brookline Democrat Rep. Frank I. Smizik, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health would certify patients using or growing marijuana, also called cannabis, for medicinal purposes. The state would issue identification cards to patients and also would designate a single caretaker who could handle or grow marijuana for a disabled patient.
Patients would be limited in how much marijuana they could use and grow. Doctors would be restricted in the types of afflictions they could prescribe cannabis for, including HIV/AIDS, severe pain and nausea, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease.
Rep. Barbara A. L'Italien, D-Andover, whose district includes part of Georgetown, is a co-sponsor of the bill and one of several North of Boston lawmakers who have expressed support for the proposal. She opposes legalizing marijuana for recreational use but thinks it can help those with serious illnesses.
"I feel very strongly that there are people who have chronic illnesses or pain for whom this seems to bring some measure of relief, and they don't respond to alternatives for pain relief," L'Italien said. "Why wouldn't we want those folks to have relief and some quality of life?"
L'Italien's argument resonates with many area legislators, especially those who have family members or friends who have suffered from long-term ailments.
For Rep. Harriett L. Stanley, D-West Newbury, her mother's losing battle with lung cancer cemented her support for legalized, government-regulated, medical marijuana. Stanley said toward the end of her life her mother might have found relief from marijuana.
State Rep. Michael Costello, D-Newburyport, said he would support the bill if changes were made. He wants to see marijuana dispensed in a controlled manner, similar to other prescribed drugs.
"I may have a problem if people are allowed to grow it," he said. "The question is, where are you going to put controls on it? You don't know if children can get at it."
The issue of decriminalizing marijuana — not just for medical purposes — has been raised locally before.
In the 2002 election, voters in towns represented by Costello, Stanley and L'Italien — including Newburyport, Amesbury, Georgetown, Groveland, Merrimac, Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury — backed a non-binding ballot question to "decriminalize" marijuana. Advocates want marijuana possession treated the same way as running a red light, where a ticket is given to offenders.
The vote instructed Costello, Stanley and L'Italien to file legislation to make marijuana possession a civil offense, and vote in favor of it. None of them filed such a bill.
The debate over legalizing marijuana for medical use kicked up when Rhode Island became the third New England state — along with Maine and Vermont — to pass a medical marijuana law. The Rhode Island law, passed over the governor's veto, lets people grow up to 12 marijuana plants or buy 2.5 ounces. Medical marijuana users must register with the state and get a photo identification card.
With the New England states, 11 states allow marijuana to be grown and used for medicinal purposes. The other states are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Even with the state laws, marijuana use and sale can be prosecuted under federal law. The Drug Policy Forum of Massachusetts says fear of prosecution makes it difficult to know how many use marijuana to cope with long-term pain and disease.
Source: Newburyport Daily News (MA)
Author: Edward Mason, Staff Writer
Published: Monday, January 16, 2006
Copyright: 2006 Eagle Tribune Publishing Company
Website: https://www.ecnnews.com/nt/
Contact: online_editor@EagleTribune.com
