Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
During a lifelong battle with epilepsy, Brooke Lawlor has fallen down stairs, through walls and off her family's lakeside dock. She has broken ribs and her tail bone.
Lawlor, 22, now wears a helmet for safety and takes 16 to 20 pills a day to help prevent further falls.
But $35,000 a year in state-paid prescriptions have nasty side effects and do little good, according to her mother.
"There aren't any good options out there. They're all Band-Aids," Shari Lawlor said.
Shari, of Valley, and her daughter joined about 60 people at the State Capitol on Friday in urging state lawmakers to legalize an alternative medicine they believe will help people with chronic medical issues – marijuana.
"It's the right thing to do," said State Sen. Tommy Garrett, of Bellevue, who has introduced Legislative Bill 643, the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act, in the State Legislature this year.
While 23 states and the District of Columbia now allow sales of marijuana for medical purposes, Garrett's bill is the first introduced in Nebraska that would allow it.
The senator, a 27-year Air Force veteran who says he has never smoked pot, said he has no interest in legalizing marijuana for recreational use but finds it "unconscionable" that state lawmakers haven't allowed it to relieve pain, reduce nausea and for other medical uses.
He told the story of his late father-in-law, who was advised back in 1978 by a doctor in Colorado that pot would help his cancer symptoms. His sister-in-law was forced to buy it illegally, said Garrett, who added that despite being warned about the political consequences of advocating legalization of medicinal pot, he's pushing ahead.
"That's why we're here, to make good policy and to help people," Garrett said.
A large crowd nearly filled the Capitol Rotunda for a news conference Friday, underscoring the great interest in the measure.
But opponents to the idea are already lining up.
Both Gov. Pete Ricketts and Attorney General Doug Peterson have said they oppose legalization of medical marijuana.
And some law enforcement officials have said it would lead to legalizing pot for recreational use, as is done in neighboring Colorado.
Otoe County Attorney David Partsch said allowing its use as medicine sends the wrong message to young people, that pot "is not harmful, it's helpful." Partsch chairs the legislative committee of the Nebraska County Attorneys Association, which opposes Garrett's proposal.
Earlier this week, a panel of doctors with the Nebraska Medical Association also voted to oppose LB 643.
"There are sufficient alternatives for treatment of pain, and that's consistent with the position of the American Medical Association," said Ann Frohman, a lobbyist for the NMA.
Joni Cover of the Nebraska Pharmacists Association said her organization isn't saying if marijuana is good or bad medicine. But if state lawmakers want to legalize its use as a drug, it should be tightly regulated and dispensed only by pharmacists. In addition, the federal government needs to revisit its current classification as a Schedule 1 drug, which means it has "no currently accepted medical use," she said.
"A bigger policy discussion needs to take place. It's a complicated issue," Cover said. But it's no longer an issue that pharmacists can ignore, she added.
"Ten years ago, no one was looking at it as a medicinal substance," Cover said. "All the states are having a discussion about it now."
In neighboring Iowa last year, lawmakers legalized a non-hallucinogenic hemp extract for the treatment of epilepsy. But state lawmakers and the Iowa Pharmacy Board have, so far, been reluctant to OK marijuana for broader medical uses.
This year, Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford reintroduced a measure, LB 390, to authorize a pilot study of hemp oil to gauge its effectiveness in treating seizure disorders.
Garrett, a cosponsor of the bill, said it doesn't go far enough and would only help a few families involved in the study. Many more families, he said, need help.
During Friday's press conference, several people testified about how legalizing marijuana as medicine could help those who suffered from cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other diseases.
Allison Holmes, a University of Nebraska at Omaha student, said her mother, who suffers from MS, found immediate relief when she tried medical marijuana in Colorado. Her mother is now considering moving there, Holmes said.
Omaha Sen. Joni Craighead, who was elected in November, said her late husband, Mike, and the late Sen. Pam Brown, a friend, could have both found "a better quality of life" during their final months suffering from cancer.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana finds support - North Platte Nebraska's Newspaper: State News
Author: Paul Hammel
Contact: webmaster@nptelegraph.com
Photo Credit: Brenden Sullivan
Website: North Platte Nebraska's Newspaper: Your SOURCE for news in North Platte.
Lawlor, 22, now wears a helmet for safety and takes 16 to 20 pills a day to help prevent further falls.
But $35,000 a year in state-paid prescriptions have nasty side effects and do little good, according to her mother.
"There aren't any good options out there. They're all Band-Aids," Shari Lawlor said.
Shari, of Valley, and her daughter joined about 60 people at the State Capitol on Friday in urging state lawmakers to legalize an alternative medicine they believe will help people with chronic medical issues – marijuana.
"It's the right thing to do," said State Sen. Tommy Garrett, of Bellevue, who has introduced Legislative Bill 643, the Cannabis Compassion and Care Act, in the State Legislature this year.
While 23 states and the District of Columbia now allow sales of marijuana for medical purposes, Garrett's bill is the first introduced in Nebraska that would allow it.
The senator, a 27-year Air Force veteran who says he has never smoked pot, said he has no interest in legalizing marijuana for recreational use but finds it "unconscionable" that state lawmakers haven't allowed it to relieve pain, reduce nausea and for other medical uses.
He told the story of his late father-in-law, who was advised back in 1978 by a doctor in Colorado that pot would help his cancer symptoms. His sister-in-law was forced to buy it illegally, said Garrett, who added that despite being warned about the political consequences of advocating legalization of medicinal pot, he's pushing ahead.
"That's why we're here, to make good policy and to help people," Garrett said.
A large crowd nearly filled the Capitol Rotunda for a news conference Friday, underscoring the great interest in the measure.
But opponents to the idea are already lining up.
Both Gov. Pete Ricketts and Attorney General Doug Peterson have said they oppose legalization of medical marijuana.
And some law enforcement officials have said it would lead to legalizing pot for recreational use, as is done in neighboring Colorado.
Otoe County Attorney David Partsch said allowing its use as medicine sends the wrong message to young people, that pot "is not harmful, it's helpful." Partsch chairs the legislative committee of the Nebraska County Attorneys Association, which opposes Garrett's proposal.
Earlier this week, a panel of doctors with the Nebraska Medical Association also voted to oppose LB 643.
"There are sufficient alternatives for treatment of pain, and that's consistent with the position of the American Medical Association," said Ann Frohman, a lobbyist for the NMA.
Joni Cover of the Nebraska Pharmacists Association said her organization isn't saying if marijuana is good or bad medicine. But if state lawmakers want to legalize its use as a drug, it should be tightly regulated and dispensed only by pharmacists. In addition, the federal government needs to revisit its current classification as a Schedule 1 drug, which means it has "no currently accepted medical use," she said.
"A bigger policy discussion needs to take place. It's a complicated issue," Cover said. But it's no longer an issue that pharmacists can ignore, she added.
"Ten years ago, no one was looking at it as a medicinal substance," Cover said. "All the states are having a discussion about it now."
In neighboring Iowa last year, lawmakers legalized a non-hallucinogenic hemp extract for the treatment of epilepsy. But state lawmakers and the Iowa Pharmacy Board have, so far, been reluctant to OK marijuana for broader medical uses.
This year, Bellevue Sen. Sue Crawford reintroduced a measure, LB 390, to authorize a pilot study of hemp oil to gauge its effectiveness in treating seizure disorders.
Garrett, a cosponsor of the bill, said it doesn't go far enough and would only help a few families involved in the study. Many more families, he said, need help.
During Friday's press conference, several people testified about how legalizing marijuana as medicine could help those who suffered from cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and other diseases.
Allison Holmes, a University of Nebraska at Omaha student, said her mother, who suffers from MS, found immediate relief when she tried medical marijuana in Colorado. Her mother is now considering moving there, Holmes said.
Omaha Sen. Joni Craighead, who was elected in November, said her late husband, Mike, and the late Sen. Pam Brown, a friend, could have both found "a better quality of life" during their final months suffering from cancer.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana finds support - North Platte Nebraska's Newspaper: State News
Author: Paul Hammel
Contact: webmaster@nptelegraph.com
Photo Credit: Brenden Sullivan
Website: North Platte Nebraska's Newspaper: Your SOURCE for news in North Platte.
