Topeka — A bill that would create a defense for people who use marijuana because of medical problems has little hope of getting out of a Senate committee, the panel's chairwoman said Monday.
Supporters and opponents of the measure offered their views to the Senate Health Care Strategies Committee, chaired by Susan Wagle.
"This bill isn't on my agenda," the Wichita Republican said. "In the last five years, there have been so many more drugs available to cancer patients."
Supporters included former Attorney General Bob Stephan, who said the bill doesn't legalize marijuana but would provide a defense for those with a chronic or debilitating disease if they have a written statement from a doctor that using marijuana could help them.
"This is nothing new. Marijuana has been used by people with severe illnesses for a long time," he said.
Also supporting the bill was Anthony Buckland, a Shawnee County resident, who said his 16-year-old stepdaughter has cancer and marijuana would help her depression and nausea and be cheaper than the medication she's using.
One committee member, Sen. Phil Journey, a Haysville Republican, suggested there was a problem with the bill as drafted. He suggested a better approach might be to make such possession punishable only by a fine.
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.
ksdivakat (anonymous) says…
Get into the 21st century Kansas!!! Its time to stop going after people who smoke a little pot and go after the real criminals, pedofiles, things of this nature. Pot is probably cheaper than medicine and it probably works better than medicine.....Pot smokers are not criminals, leave them alone! Your war on drugs hasnt worked since you waged it....try something new!
trueninetiesgirl (anonymous) says…
They are all afraid of loosing all the money they get, when they bust some one,and fines. They really dont care how much anything helps any one. Gread has taken them all over. To bad that we dont even, have the freedom we faught so hard for! i am just staighting a point. i am not trying to make any one made.
Ragingbear (anonymous) says…
Marijuana is all but legal in Lawrence.Just legalize it and there will be plenty of new tax revenue from it.Then the city can build all of the roundabouts and golf courses they want.
Ragingbear (anonymous) says…
Anyone else watch the documentary on the History Channel on how it was made illegal in the first place? There were 3 main reasons. 1. Blacks 2. Mexicans 3. The Alcohol Lobbyist
You see, they convinced people through a smear campaign that marijuana caused a majority of the severe violent crime, and it was perpetrated by the poorest people, who happened to be black or Mexican. Heck, people were sentenced to die for possession of a single joint. It wasn't about keeping our kids from the "devil weed". It was about trying to run off all the people that had just helped save the country from complete economic collapse only a few years before.
toefungus (anonymous) says…
There are easier ways to ban happiness. Just raise taxes.
salad (anonymous) says…
I think medical weed is a good idea, but ya know, if I had cancer or glaucoma...I'd just go find some and be happy. I don't think the Police are really into the kind of publicity that arresting cancer patients seeking relief would bring.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
I wonder how this will affect the Recreational Marijuana bill I'm pushing.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMrzGa...
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
Uh oh, I sense a hissy fit a coming.
acg (anonymous) says…
TOB, I'm so on board with your recreational useage bill. :) Ragingbear, I also saw something similar to that on History many moons ago. I also liked how the establishment had people convinced that if white girls smoked pot, they would want to have sex with black men and we just can't have that, now can we? It's all so ridiculous. It's a plant for heaven's sake and it has many uses, not only medicinal but industrial as well. But you'll never get the do-gooders to hear it. They're too busy saving us from ourselves to be open minded about anything.
krisell (anonymous) says…
Two good books about this subject that everyone should read - not just pro-marijuana people:
"Smoke and MIrrors" by Dan Baum - just an overview of how marijuana became illegal in the first place, and what every president up to Clinton did to keep it that way.
"The Emperor Wears No Clothes" by Jack Herer - a history of hemp and marijuana and their uses throughout history. This guy has spent several decades researching this topic and really knows his stuff!
I think everyone owes it to themselves to check out both sides of an issue, not just side with the government because they tell you something is bad. Educate yourselves!!!
bunnyhawk (anonymous) says…
We can only wonder how Susan Wagle's 'agenda' might change if she herself was fighting or living with cancer.
It's so much easier to pass judgment on others when you have never had to walk their path.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
"You just check out my LJW profile for my new website and then we'll see who is going to have a hissy fit!"
Marion/NickDanger/Girlfriend et al
Only an idiot would click a link to a known spammer's website.
JJE007 (anonymous) says…
I'll click it...I love spam.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
http://groups.google.com/group/news.a...
Ragingbear (anonymous) says…
As for you "Cig smoke bad, mary jane smoke good" claimers, that is a foolish assumption. It doesn't take a genius to understand that inhaling smoke is a bad thing. There is no doubt that on certain fundamental levels, that marijuana is bad for you. The same applies to alcohol. We all know that drinking is rough on the system, that doesn't mean it should be illegal. Should somebody be allowed stoned at work, while driving, or involved in anything that there is even a remote chance of danger if reflexes and judgment are slowed? Heck no.
"Stoners" don't sit around all day getting high. Sure, there are some. There are people that sit around all day drinking too. Many of them like to smoke after work, or on weekends, or just at parties. And there is no real justifiable reason for it NOT to be legal, especially in regards to a medical aspect.
average (anonymous) says…
I think this might be a good time to point out that Barack Obama has (not as forcefully as I might like) voiced his support for decriminalization of marijuana and supports states' rights in the area. In the Bill Clinton era, more people were incarcerated for marijuana possession than an any other time.
Just saying.
ForThePeople (anonymous) says…
Frankly I'm sick and tired of our tax dollars being spent to wage a war against a freaking plant! It is way past time that marijuana be legalized! Jeez, think of the revenue that could be made and put to better use, than housing people in jail for this. What a waste!
meanbean101 (anonymous) says…
Actually Marion, my roommate is from California and has cancer. He was able to obtain a prescription for pot and says it's extremely easy to do. There are also vending machines for marijuana in public places. It's completely possible to change and these laws would make a huge difference.
bd (anonymous) says…
Old Bob Stephan our old attorney general sure has changed his tune!
Good for him!
Haiku_Cuckoo (anonymous) says…
I wouldn't be opposed to medical marijuana for people with cancer, glaucoma or AIDS. The problem in California is that many shady doctors are cashing-in on this trend and writing pot scrips for people with lesser ailments that can be resolved by means other than medical marijuana...sore foot, headache, chronic fatigue. If you're truly ill, go get yourself some pot. If you're not ill but are instead exploiting the sick by riding their coattails as an excuse to smoke pot, then you should be ashamed of yourself.
Ragingbear (anonymous) says…
Those machines are not in public, and you still have to present credentials for them, and they are supposed to have security guards for them.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
snap writes:
Marioni's
crusade
de jour
seems
to
be
on
this
thread
.
RedwoodCoast (anonymous) says…
Dollypawpaw (Anonymous) says:
Cig smoke bad. Mary Jane smoke good.
Liberals and their drugs, don't stand in the way of them
----------------------------------
Absolutely wrong. I lived and worked in Humboldt County, California, for a year and a half, and there are plenty of lift-kit Ford F-250-driving redneck hillfolk who wear belt buckles and cowboy boots who grow and smoke pot. Not just a liberal drug, dolly.
Furthermore, in California, there are doctors who make it their sole source of income to set people up with their "215's," or medical recommendations. It is very simple to procure one. Most legislators are prudish and afraid of pot, simply because it has been lumped in with hard drugs and villified by anti-drug government agencies. I would wager that most have no first-hand experience with it. I've known many folks who simply cannot be productive unless they have their "medecine." I would never have guessed they were stoned all the time had they not told me. In my opinion, there is an irrational fear of the plant and a tendency to associate it with "liberals" and "ape-like" hippies, which flat wrong.
beatrice (anonymous) says…
Dolly and b3, why do you hate God?
What you are saying is that manufactured, artificial drugs are good, but plants found in nature and presumably planted originally by God himself are bad. Who are you to question God's gardening?
God-hating neocons like Dolly and b3 do should be flogged in public. It may not help ease the pain of cancer victims, but I'd enjoy it.
The_Original_Bob (anonymous) says…
Damn, Bea!
ksdivakat (anonymous) says…
riddle me this dolly and b3.....show me a story where someone has beat their wife just because they were stoned, show me an article where someone didnt pay the rent so that they could get a bag, show me an article where someone just high on pot hit and killed someone with their car, show me proof where someone who was high made an ass out of themselves in public....I bet you cant....but there are hundreds of articles where this has all happened over lets say alcohol....which is legal! So you tell me which is the less of the 2 evils?? pot or alcohol?? Your alcohol is legal, and causes problems everyday....I have never met someone who just exclusively smokes pot, and has been addicted to it. Theres a mental issue of dependency but thats all in your head....but alcohol is a physical dependency and that dependency kills. I have worked with many alcoholic who is 21, 22 23 y/o and they lay there an die a very painful death due to seroccos(sp) of the liver.....but ive yet to see a patient who dies from smoking pot.
Ragingbear (anonymous) says…
Officer, it's horrible. Every time he smokes marijuana he comes home and... and... it's so hard to say... He even ate the baking soda in the back of the fridge!
lounger (anonymous) says…
"This bill isn't on my agenda," the Wichita Republican said. "In the last five years, there have been so many more drugs available to cancer patients."
Yes and there are 25 side effects for all these new drugs. Face it, nothing works as well as Mother nature so get with it lawmakers!! Mary Jane is grand medicine!
RiverCityConservative (anonymous) says…
I learned a lot about straight thinking and stoned thinking by reading Andrew Weil's "The Natural Mind" many years ago. I think it is still available and they have some info and sample pages at
http://books.google.com/books?id=NGDV...
.
Good discussion here. Robert Stephan's suggestions make a lot of sense for Kansas, and we do have a history of bucking
the trends on other issues in the past. Certainly our society
needs a more sensitive and reasoned approach to the use
of this natural herb.
libertarianjim (anonymous) says…
After some thought and vented anger at the dartboard in my basement, I decided to do some research.
Guess what I found out! Much to my surprise (not really), every member of the committee has obtained campaign contributions from at least one and in most cases many of the lobbiest of the Alcohol, Tobacco & Pharmaceutical industries (all in campaign contribution public records). To top it off, members of the Kansas Board of Pharmacy, Kansas Narcotics Officer Assn., Kansas Peace Officer Association & Kansas Association of Police Chiefs had their representatives their testifying among other parties with a financial stake in prohibition. The gross misrepresentation, fear mongering and distortion of statistical data was spread through the room with great conviction. The hypocrisy of the testimony was clearly evident. Go to http://www.ksccc.org/Press/Testimony.... and look at the testimony given by the anti-marijuana coalition. Lies, Lies and more Lies.
I was ashamed by the fact that our elected officials let the narcotics officers associations dictate public health policy. I have not seen a greater display of self interest in my entire life. They might as well call it the Kansas Law Enforcement, Alcohol, Tobacco & Pharmaceutical Lobby Strategies Committee.
All that being said, my greatest displeasure has come from the media. Their absence of coverage is a disgrace to their profession.
This bill was not about making marijuana legal or even providing it to dieing patients. Current Kansas law does not allow a defendant to even say he was using marijuana as a medicine in a court of law. All this bill would do is let a defendant provide proof that he possessed marijuana for medical purposes approved by a doctor and the judge and jury would decide the defendants fate. It was about free speech and the right to defend ones self!
Convictions are now determined at the time of arrest by law enforcement officers and Prosecutors, NOT by juries and judges.
Justice and truth are not important, but maintaining ones turf sure is.
Kansas "The Free State", well not really.