Minnesota Medical Marijuana

I am writing to urge you to vote “yes” on the medical marijuana bills

H.F. 292 and S.F. 97.

Medical marijuana is effective at alleviating the pain associated with various debilitating conditions. These include cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, muscle spasms, and others. Despite misguided claims to the contrary, marijuana clearly does have therapeutic value. This has been proven time and time again both by scientific study and by the actual experiences of people who have found real relief with this drug.

Major medical organizations agree that medical marijuana is effective at alleviating the pain associated with various debilitating conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, muscle spasms, and others.  Marijuana clearly does have therapeutic value and will help many seriously ill Minnesotans.

The Minnesota Public Health Association, the Minnesota Nurses Association, the Minnesota AIDS Project, the Leukemia Foundation of America, the Leukaemia & Lymphoma Society, and many other medical organizations support allowing the medical use of marijuana.

Patients undergoing chemotherapy or suffering from multiple sclerosis or wasting syndrome, for example, have extreme difficulty keeping anything down – including pills. But with marijuana, they can pick the right dosage of medication needed to avoid uncontrollable nausea. Allowing these people access to their medicine will not increase crime and will send the right message to everyone that people should be treated with compassion.

A May 2008 SurveyUSA poll found that 64% of Minnesotans support medical marijuana, while only 30% oppose it. Additionally, it found that a majority of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents support medical marijuana legislation. This is not a partisan issue; it is an issue of compassion.

I hope that I can count on you to recognize the reality of just how cruel our current policies toward medical marijuana patients are and to do everything you can to change them this session.

Marijuana is far less addictive than many prescription narcotics, and many long-term users of painkillers will tell you that the addictive potential of these medications is a very real problem. Marijuana is a safe and effective alternative for many patients who are unable to find success with other pain relievers

A bill to allow patients with intractable pain and debilitating illness to use marijuana for symptom relief is expected to hit the House floor for a vote this week, and will likely pass only to meet a potential veto by Gov. Tim Palwenty. Despite the veto threat, recent polling shows that even members of his own party support medical marijuana.

Even a recent KSTP/SurveyUSA poll, 53 percent of Republicans said they wanted marijuana to be legal for medical purposes. Across all political affiliations, 64 percent of respondents supported the legal use of medical marijuana. In fact, Minnesotans have historically supported medical marijuana with polling numbers remaining above 60 percent since 1999.

With the history of Minnesota’s very close political election results next year Governors race not does seem so very far away. Just the fact that Gov. Tim Pawlenty won his office in 2002 in a three-way race, accumulating 45 percent of the vote cast and Gov. Tim Pawlenty won re-election to a second term in a nailbiter of a race. The Republican governor defeated DFL attorney general Mike Hatch by less than 2 percentage points. Hatch led in recent polls, but his campaign made some gaffes in the final days.

The smart money says if the Minnesota House and Senate pass their respective Bills permitting the legal use of Marijuana for Medical Care if Governor Tim Pawlenty veto’s it  Governor Pawlenty could loss his re-election because he has forgotten this is not only a Merciful Bipartisan Humanitarian Medical Issue but also an Urgent Issue which would enable our Law Enforcement Officers to better fight Violent Crime and Terrorism with the limited funding they presently are getting!  

Testimony from other states even credited with the legalization of Medical Marijuana was not only a merciful Bipartisan Humanitarian Medical Issue help the quality of life of our patients wasting away with HIV-AIDS, or of Cancer Victims suffering nausea from their chemotherapy treatment which they must periodically undergo to lengthen their lives then if they just by-passed the chemotherapy.

The St. Paul Pioneer press article published last week below quotes the Ex-Police Chief from the State of Washington as crediting a legalization of Medical Marijuana as a reason for a drop in Washington's crime rate.

Ex-Police Chief Backs Medical Marijuana, Says Legalization

Could Cut Down On Crime

Dan Lien

March 25, 2009

The Pioneer Press (St. Paul, MN)

Allowing some people to use marijuana for medical purposes won't prompt a rash of drug crimes. In fact, if states such as Washington are examples, it could do just the opposite in Minnesota.

At least that's what the former police chief of Seattle suggested to a Minnesota House committee Tuesday.

Former Chief Norm Stamper noted that overall crime, including marijuana-related violations, is down significantly in Washington. So, what would he say if asked how its legalization is faring there?

"My one-word response would be 'well,' '' Stamper said. "My two-word response would be 'very well.' ''

Stamper endorsed a House bill that would legalize the use of marijuana for people with chronic and debilitating illnesses. Sponsored by state Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia, the bill passed the Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee on a 9-6 vote and was sent to a finance committee. A similar bill is moving through the state Senate.

Stamper conceded the idea of less crime and legalized medical marijuana sounds counterintuitive.

"The theory is that we have now made a medicine out of what formerly was an illicit drug,'' said Stamper, adding, "It has removed the mystique.''

Opposition in Washington state from law-enforcement officials "has been eliminated or neutralized,'' he added.

But not in Minnesota. At least at the hearing.

Representatives from state and local police organizations, including Public Safety Commissioner Michael Campion, spoke against the bill, even piling large bags of marijuana on a table to demonstrate how much they said someone could possess under the proposal.

They argued the bill was misguided, wasn't sufficiently restrictive and would help feed America's appetite for illegal drugs.State Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Good Thunder, who is police chief of Lake Crystal, even contended Stamper showed too much support for the medical profession — at the expense of police in the hearing room.
"They're not taking the risks — we are,'' said Cornish, who wore a bright yellow tie that said, "Police Line, Do Not Cross.''
Saying that wasn't his intent, Stamper said he believes any solution in Minnesota must include law-enforcement representatives. He testified that Minnesota's proposal is more restrictive and allows less marijuana in possession than the guidelines approved by Washington voters in 1998.
"We have a lot more medical marijuana patients than you can anticipate here,'' Stamper said.

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With a recent KSTP/Survey USA Poll even having a majority of Republicans wanting marijuana legal for medical purposes and showing an enormous bipartisan 64% of Minnesota’s Voters supported the legal use of medical marijuana; highest polling numbers on record with the recent history of such very close elections for state-wide elections talk of a veto by Governor Pawlenty of such an overwhelming popular legislation could be premature, considering that his re-elections was a nail biter of only 2 % which many say was due to Attorney General Hatch’s Campaign making some major gaffes in the final days.

With almost 2/3 of all Minnesotans wishing to join the other 25% of the states that let Doctors decide if a Medical Marijuana will be beneficial to their terminally ill patients wish to join these thirteen states and the others who are presently on the road to passing similar laws to legalize the Medical use of Marijuana, this is the most important things that Governor Pawlenty should very heavily consider before his talked about veto; public opinion is rapidly shifting since President Obama’s election and in 2 years if he should chose to veto a partisan bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature for the Medical use of Marijuana to easy the suffering of our terminally ill

Maybe several years ago Governor Pawlenty may have automatically vetoed such a bill; but public opinion has changed and this change in public opinion is moving toward the universal acceptance of the use of Medical Marijuana for those with a medical need is now lead by President Obama!

President Obama’s new and very forceful shift in Federal Policy on this issue is favoured by over 2/3 of American and even more important for the re-election for Governor Pawlenty by 2/3 of Minnesotans who responded to the most recent KSTP/USA Survey.

Governor Pawlenty must consider if he decides to veto this bill he is needlessly going head to head with a very popular President Obama on a humanitarian health care issue that is designed reduce the pain and discomforts of 10,000’s of Minnesotans dying from HIV-AID, Cancer, suffering from terrible side effects like nausea of chemotherapy or needlessly going blind from Glaucoma.

A VETO of the Medical Use of Marijuana Bill could very easily as it even is gaining wider acceptance under President Obama, could almost for sure come back to haunt Governor Pawlenty and cost him, his chances of re-election in another for sure very close election.

Governor Pawlenty, you  have to remember President Obama, our Command-in-Chief most recently said;  “I want folks to be investigating violent crimes and potential terrorism. We’ve got a lot of things for our law enforcement officers to deal with.” What I’m not going to be doing is using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this “Legalization of Medical Marijuana” issue.

President Obama’s new out-spoken position that he wants our Law Enforcement Officers investigating Violent Crimes and Potential Terrorists. He said we should stop wasting time and resources on going after sick people and focus on real crime, rather then spending their time arresting terminally ill cancer of AIDS patients could  making Governor Pawlenty’s veto for Minnesota Medical Marijuana bill after bipartisan passage the Minnesota Legislature really make Governor Pawlenty look very uncaring about 10,000’s of dying Minnesotan’s. In another close election a veto by Governor Pawlenty NOW could very easily effect his chances for re-election.

Governor Pawlenty with your election only one and half years away; I must would advise to veto a bill that 2/3 of the Minnesotans and the President Obama support is a very dangerous and unnecessary veto for you; Governor Pawlenty if you should chose to do it.

Your veto if you chose to override the Minnesota Legislature after it bipartisan passage their Medical Marijuana Bill; not only would it not give a suffering patient’s medical doctor another option is their fight to give their dying patients a better quality of life in their remaining days by reducing their pain and suffering, it could be used in your re-election to make you Governor Pawlenty look very insensitive to the suffering of the terminally ill;  which could very easily cost  you your  re-election for governor and your future dream of national office.

Already officially President Obama has recognize the benefits of marijuana as medicine and have chosen not to waste energy and national resources going after seriously ill people. When 2/3 of our Minnesotans think it's time for our state to join growing ranks of state that have passed legislation for the legal use of Medical Marijuana with a doctors prescription, that a very strong statement I would advise you not to really think about.  You must know the more you think about which you should very very carefully; So your VETO does not become just as harmful for your hopes for re-election and even national office as Attorney General Hatch’s Campaign gaffes in the final days of your 2% nail biters in your last election.

Thank you for your time.

Two-thirds of the Minnesota’s Voters

Almost 2/3 of the Voters in Minnesota; including a majority of our fellow Republicans

Still have questions? Please contact us anytime! We look forward to hearing from you.