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U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith admits it might be a hard sell for fellow Republicans, but he believes his bill to permit the use of medical marijuana is actually a conservative one. The congressman from Salem said his bill, the Legitimate Use of Medicinal Marijuana Act, or LUMMA, would make marijuana a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, on par with hydrocodone and other painkillers. The bill, filed earlier this week, would permit the use of medical marijuana in states that allow doctors to prescribe it.
"It may take some time for people to warm up to it," he said Tuesday. "But it is actually a very conservative bill. It says government should step back and let the doctors and health professionals use a substance in a manner that they would use any other substance for treatment of patients who need help. ... My bill is a conservative answer to folks who say, 'Well, why can't we use it?'" Most of the bills filed regarding marijuana have been sponsored by Democrats, but Griffith said the issue is one that has been on his mind for years.
"I felt like the discussion ought to be about legitimate use of medical marijuana," Griffith said. "I do not support recreational use of marijuana being legalized, but I do think doctors ought to have that option. ... Our doctors are having to sneak around and do something, or ask people to do something, that's not currently legal, there's something wrong with that medical system and this is a way we can prevent that." Marijuana is believed to bring relief to those who suffer pain like headaches or from a disease like cancer and some studies suggest it might lessen the symptoms for multiple sclerosis.
"Under a doctor's care, through proper procedures, I think it's something we as a society should've done long ago," Griffith said. "This gives the [Drug Enforcement Administration] the ability to say, this is the way you ought to do it. If we're going to use marijuana legitimately for medical uses, it ought to be done with the DEA and the [Food and Drug Administration] and doctors going through the proper channels." He said if doctors or users abuse the drug, the DEA could crack down on them, just as it does on illicit use of other drugs.
In Virginia, a law was passed in 1979 permitting prescribed medical marijuana for treatment of glaucoma and cancer, but federal law still does not permit it. Tennessee passed and then repealed a similar law in the 1980s. Twenty-one states currently allow medical marijuana and more have pending legislation that would allow it. Fellow Republican Bill Carrico, a state senator from Fries, Va., said he doesn't think marijuana should be legalized in any form.
"I think it's a gateway drug," said the former law enforcement officer. "It enhances and gives reason for people to do things that are a lot stronger than marijuana. I believe ... that it can become abused and it's like other drugs we have problems with like oxycodone ... that once it's out there, it can be a harmful drug and get in the hands of others and start the trend of abuse." He also said it might be a difficult bill for Republicans to back.
"From what I've seen in the past, there's not much of an appetite to [pass] it," he said. "Once you start down the road of legalizing for medical use, then you run into problems of people knowing who has it and it being stolen and sold for other purposes. I think you've just got more problems than what you need." But Seth Green, a Bluff City man who has cerebral palsy, believes that medical marijuana is the answer for a lot of people who are suffering. He's organized rallies and events to try to get marijuana legalized for medical use in Tennessee. "It's going to take a lot of people to stand up," he said, to get a law passed.
He said a federal law would help a lot of people. "You would see money coming in by the millions just from the plant alone," he said. "And if we took all the marijuana users out of jail, look how much money we'd save. It's the new, modern medicine of this time." Griffith's bill, HR4498, has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Tricities.com
Author: Allie Gibbson
Contact: Contact Us - TriCities.com: Site
Website: Griffith introduces bill for medical marijuana - TriCities.com: Local News
"It may take some time for people to warm up to it," he said Tuesday. "But it is actually a very conservative bill. It says government should step back and let the doctors and health professionals use a substance in a manner that they would use any other substance for treatment of patients who need help. ... My bill is a conservative answer to folks who say, 'Well, why can't we use it?'" Most of the bills filed regarding marijuana have been sponsored by Democrats, but Griffith said the issue is one that has been on his mind for years.
"I felt like the discussion ought to be about legitimate use of medical marijuana," Griffith said. "I do not support recreational use of marijuana being legalized, but I do think doctors ought to have that option. ... Our doctors are having to sneak around and do something, or ask people to do something, that's not currently legal, there's something wrong with that medical system and this is a way we can prevent that." Marijuana is believed to bring relief to those who suffer pain like headaches or from a disease like cancer and some studies suggest it might lessen the symptoms for multiple sclerosis.
"Under a doctor's care, through proper procedures, I think it's something we as a society should've done long ago," Griffith said. "This gives the [Drug Enforcement Administration] the ability to say, this is the way you ought to do it. If we're going to use marijuana legitimately for medical uses, it ought to be done with the DEA and the [Food and Drug Administration] and doctors going through the proper channels." He said if doctors or users abuse the drug, the DEA could crack down on them, just as it does on illicit use of other drugs.
In Virginia, a law was passed in 1979 permitting prescribed medical marijuana for treatment of glaucoma and cancer, but federal law still does not permit it. Tennessee passed and then repealed a similar law in the 1980s. Twenty-one states currently allow medical marijuana and more have pending legislation that would allow it. Fellow Republican Bill Carrico, a state senator from Fries, Va., said he doesn't think marijuana should be legalized in any form.
"I think it's a gateway drug," said the former law enforcement officer. "It enhances and gives reason for people to do things that are a lot stronger than marijuana. I believe ... that it can become abused and it's like other drugs we have problems with like oxycodone ... that once it's out there, it can be a harmful drug and get in the hands of others and start the trend of abuse." He also said it might be a difficult bill for Republicans to back.
"From what I've seen in the past, there's not much of an appetite to [pass] it," he said. "Once you start down the road of legalizing for medical use, then you run into problems of people knowing who has it and it being stolen and sold for other purposes. I think you've just got more problems than what you need." But Seth Green, a Bluff City man who has cerebral palsy, believes that medical marijuana is the answer for a lot of people who are suffering. He's organized rallies and events to try to get marijuana legalized for medical use in Tennessee. "It's going to take a lot of people to stand up," he said, to get a law passed.
He said a federal law would help a lot of people. "You would see money coming in by the millions just from the plant alone," he said. "And if we took all the marijuana users out of jail, look how much money we'd save. It's the new, modern medicine of this time." Griffith's bill, HR4498, has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Tricities.com
Author: Allie Gibbson
Contact: Contact Us - TriCities.com: Site
Website: Griffith introduces bill for medical marijuana - TriCities.com: Local News
