Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Washington - Kaysville resident Christine Stenquist's fight to legalize marijuana took her to the nation's capitol this week to meet with Utah's congressional delegation and drum up support for the CARERS Act that would reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule II drug.
Stenquist again teamed with Utah Sen. Mark Madsen to lobby for legislation that many view as vital to those struggling with chronic diseases that standard pharmaceuticals do little to relieve. During the most recent legislative session, Madsen unsuccessfully sponsored SB73 to legalize medical marijuana in Utah.
"Just since our (legislative) session ended, three more states got a medical marijuana program," Stenquist said. That brings the total to 26, with an additional 16 enacting CBD-only legislation. "It"s moving and it's moving quickly."
However, federal law for decades has classified marijuana with other Schedule I drugs that include Heroin, LSD, Mescaline Ecstasy and Psilocybin or psychedelic mushrooms. As states legalized cannabis use for medical purposes, law enforcement agencies grappled with the conflict between federal and state law regarding marijuana possession and use. The Schedule I classification also blocked sorely needed research that could bring medical marijuana into the mainstream.
In March 2015, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act and now his bill has 19 co-sponsors of varied political stripes, but none from Utah so far. The legislation currently sits stalled in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary where Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator from Iowa, has not brought it up for discussion and a vote.
"CARERS would move cannabis to Schedule II and out of the classification of not being medically viable," Stenquist said by phone from Falls Church, Virginia Thursday.
The nonprofit Americans for Safe Access asked that Stenquist and Madsen make their best pitch on behalf of CARERS.
Beth Collins, senior director of Government Relations and External Affairs with ASA, has a daughter with epilepsy who has battled seizures for years. After her daughter tried 16 to 17 different medications and suffered serious side effects that included bouts of rage, suicidal tendencies and slowed cognitive ability, Collins moved her daughter to Colorado to test out cannabis. Her daughter tried Cannabidiol or CBD oil, which she said actually made her seizures worse, but then discovered that marijuana containing THC or tetrahydrocannabinol helped where nothing else had.
"We're trying to get the exact dosage down. We haven't seen any grand mal seizures any more, and the rages and suicidal thoughts have subsided," Collins said. "Her brain is back, and she's doing well" in spite of extended absences from school.
Stenquist, who is running as a Democrat against incumbent GOP Rep. Stewart Barlow in Utah's House District 17, shared her own story with four of Utah's six-member congressional delegation. As a single mom at age 24, she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor; doctors were able to remove part of it but had to leave a portion intact. So for years she used a cocktail of prescription opiates and other heavy medications to battle chronic pain, nausea and muscle spasms. Until she discovered marijuana's therapeutic effects just a few years ago, she could barely leave the house to go to the grocery store, let alone lobby for legislation in the District of Columbia.
"I think they understood that we're not pushing for recreational use," Stenquist said of their recent meetings with Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and Representatives Rob Bishop and Mia Love.
"We don't want our children or property taken away," Stenquist said of the potential penalties people face when using marijuana illegally.
This wild election season has also stirred uncertainty among patients who rely on medical marijuana for their continued well-being.
"With our next (U.S.) president coming in, we don't want to end up in a state of limbo," Stenquist said. "So the most conservative state of Utah is pleading with some understanding and compassion on the federal level. We get that it's a hard topic, that everyone is scared. But there's only so much that states can do, the feds have to correct this."
Sen. Hatch described his meeting with Madsen, Stenquist and Collins as a great opportunity to discuss how their individual experiences shaped their views on access to medical marijuana.
"Many Utahns are in desperate need of prompt relief from afflictions that can be life-threatening," Hatch said by email. "This is what motivated me to join with bipartisan Senate colleagues last May in introducing the Therapeutic Hemp Medical Access Act, which would exempt from the Controlled Substances Act strains of a marijuana compound called cannabidiol (CBD) that have been found to greatly benefit children suffering from intractable epilepsy."
Hatch introduced bipartisan legislation this week to facilitate research on the medical value of marijuana.
"The Marijuana Effective Drug Studies (MEDS) Act of 2016 would remove redundancies in the DEA approval process for researchers seeking to work with marijuana and would also address issues researchers have faced obtaining marijuana strains for clinical studies," Hatch said. "Such steps will help inform decisions by policymakers who are examining potential action on medical uses of marijuana."
While Stenquist found their meeting with Hatch quite valuable, she felt his MEDS Act falls woefully short in connecting to real patient needs.
"His legislation would have been so useful in 1996 when California started with medical cannabis. You've got to allow patient access in order to have a pool of people to conduct research on," Stenquist said. "Patients have an abundance of symptoms and because California laws have been as lax as they are, they have a large population using it, and we can see the safety index and what's going on with certain conditions."
State Sen. Madsen, a Saratoga Springs Republican, arrived back in Utah Thursday afternoon, and by phone praised Utah's Congressional delegation for wanting to put patients first. But he blasted both state and federal levels of government for interfering in what should be doctor-patient decisions.
'I think that CARERS and the issue of getting cannabis to these suffering patients is multi-faceted and frankly convoluted because of how the government has created policy so you've got to fight on every front," Madsen said. "There are some very powerful special interests who for their own reasons oppose getting this medicine to these patients."
Madsen is not seeking another term in Utah's Senate but said he will help craft a ballot initiative for 2018 to put the question of legalizing medical marijuana in the hands of Utah voters.
"The people really get this and support it," Madsen said, noting that Utah is now in the minority of states that have not legalized medical marijuana.
"We're condemned in Utah to have patients continue to be treated as criminals because of special interests," Madsen said. "It's hard not to get bitter when you see people suffer at the hands of government, and you see people so calloused and interested in their own budgets."
But after his recent face-to-face meetings in the District, Madsen voiced hope that the CARERS Act can gain support, break loose of gridlock and move forward.
"Our congressional delegation is a whole different caliber there," he said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Utah's Medical Marijuana Advocates Go To Bat For Federal Initiative In D.C.
Author: Cathy McKitrick
Contact: 801-625-4200
Photo Credit: Contributed
Website: Standard Examiner
Stenquist again teamed with Utah Sen. Mark Madsen to lobby for legislation that many view as vital to those struggling with chronic diseases that standard pharmaceuticals do little to relieve. During the most recent legislative session, Madsen unsuccessfully sponsored SB73 to legalize medical marijuana in Utah.
"Just since our (legislative) session ended, three more states got a medical marijuana program," Stenquist said. That brings the total to 26, with an additional 16 enacting CBD-only legislation. "It"s moving and it's moving quickly."
However, federal law for decades has classified marijuana with other Schedule I drugs that include Heroin, LSD, Mescaline Ecstasy and Psilocybin or psychedelic mushrooms. As states legalized cannabis use for medical purposes, law enforcement agencies grappled with the conflict between federal and state law regarding marijuana possession and use. The Schedule I classification also blocked sorely needed research that could bring medical marijuana into the mainstream.
In March 2015, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ introduced the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act and now his bill has 19 co-sponsors of varied political stripes, but none from Utah so far. The legislation currently sits stalled in the Senate Committee on the Judiciary where Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican Senator from Iowa, has not brought it up for discussion and a vote.
"CARERS would move cannabis to Schedule II and out of the classification of not being medically viable," Stenquist said by phone from Falls Church, Virginia Thursday.
The nonprofit Americans for Safe Access asked that Stenquist and Madsen make their best pitch on behalf of CARERS.
Beth Collins, senior director of Government Relations and External Affairs with ASA, has a daughter with epilepsy who has battled seizures for years. After her daughter tried 16 to 17 different medications and suffered serious side effects that included bouts of rage, suicidal tendencies and slowed cognitive ability, Collins moved her daughter to Colorado to test out cannabis. Her daughter tried Cannabidiol or CBD oil, which she said actually made her seizures worse, but then discovered that marijuana containing THC or tetrahydrocannabinol helped where nothing else had.
"We're trying to get the exact dosage down. We haven't seen any grand mal seizures any more, and the rages and suicidal thoughts have subsided," Collins said. "Her brain is back, and she's doing well" in spite of extended absences from school.
Stenquist, who is running as a Democrat against incumbent GOP Rep. Stewart Barlow in Utah's House District 17, shared her own story with four of Utah's six-member congressional delegation. As a single mom at age 24, she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor; doctors were able to remove part of it but had to leave a portion intact. So for years she used a cocktail of prescription opiates and other heavy medications to battle chronic pain, nausea and muscle spasms. Until she discovered marijuana's therapeutic effects just a few years ago, she could barely leave the house to go to the grocery store, let alone lobby for legislation in the District of Columbia.
"I think they understood that we're not pushing for recreational use," Stenquist said of their recent meetings with Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee, and Representatives Rob Bishop and Mia Love.
"We don't want our children or property taken away," Stenquist said of the potential penalties people face when using marijuana illegally.
This wild election season has also stirred uncertainty among patients who rely on medical marijuana for their continued well-being.
"With our next (U.S.) president coming in, we don't want to end up in a state of limbo," Stenquist said. "So the most conservative state of Utah is pleading with some understanding and compassion on the federal level. We get that it's a hard topic, that everyone is scared. But there's only so much that states can do, the feds have to correct this."
Sen. Hatch described his meeting with Madsen, Stenquist and Collins as a great opportunity to discuss how their individual experiences shaped their views on access to medical marijuana.
"Many Utahns are in desperate need of prompt relief from afflictions that can be life-threatening," Hatch said by email. "This is what motivated me to join with bipartisan Senate colleagues last May in introducing the Therapeutic Hemp Medical Access Act, which would exempt from the Controlled Substances Act strains of a marijuana compound called cannabidiol (CBD) that have been found to greatly benefit children suffering from intractable epilepsy."
Hatch introduced bipartisan legislation this week to facilitate research on the medical value of marijuana.
"The Marijuana Effective Drug Studies (MEDS) Act of 2016 would remove redundancies in the DEA approval process for researchers seeking to work with marijuana and would also address issues researchers have faced obtaining marijuana strains for clinical studies," Hatch said. "Such steps will help inform decisions by policymakers who are examining potential action on medical uses of marijuana."
While Stenquist found their meeting with Hatch quite valuable, she felt his MEDS Act falls woefully short in connecting to real patient needs.
"His legislation would have been so useful in 1996 when California started with medical cannabis. You've got to allow patient access in order to have a pool of people to conduct research on," Stenquist said. "Patients have an abundance of symptoms and because California laws have been as lax as they are, they have a large population using it, and we can see the safety index and what's going on with certain conditions."
State Sen. Madsen, a Saratoga Springs Republican, arrived back in Utah Thursday afternoon, and by phone praised Utah's Congressional delegation for wanting to put patients first. But he blasted both state and federal levels of government for interfering in what should be doctor-patient decisions.
'I think that CARERS and the issue of getting cannabis to these suffering patients is multi-faceted and frankly convoluted because of how the government has created policy so you've got to fight on every front," Madsen said. "There are some very powerful special interests who for their own reasons oppose getting this medicine to these patients."
Madsen is not seeking another term in Utah's Senate but said he will help craft a ballot initiative for 2018 to put the question of legalizing medical marijuana in the hands of Utah voters.
"The people really get this and support it," Madsen said, noting that Utah is now in the minority of states that have not legalized medical marijuana.
"We're condemned in Utah to have patients continue to be treated as criminals because of special interests," Madsen said. "It's hard not to get bitter when you see people suffer at the hands of government, and you see people so calloused and interested in their own budgets."
But after his recent face-to-face meetings in the District, Madsen voiced hope that the CARERS Act can gain support, break loose of gridlock and move forward.
"Our congressional delegation is a whole different caliber there," he said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Utah's Medical Marijuana Advocates Go To Bat For Federal Initiative In D.C.
Author: Cathy McKitrick
Contact: 801-625-4200
Photo Credit: Contributed
Website: Standard Examiner
