Illinois Medical Marijuana Bill to Receive First Hearing Tuesday
SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS A bill to protect seriously ill Illinois
residents from arrest for using medical marijuana with their doctor's
recommendation will receive its first hearing Tuesday before the Senate
Public Health Committee.
WHAT: Hearing on S.B. 650, the medical marijuana bill.
WHO: Multiple sclerosis patient and Illinois Drug Education and
Legislative (IDEAL) Reform board member Julie Falco, Chicago, is
scheduled to testify before the committee. Other health care
professionals, patients, and medical marijuana policy experts expected
to attend the hearing include:
- MPP assistant director of state policies Karen
O'Keefe, Washington, D.C.
- psychiatrist Dr. Zulima Hurtado, Round Lake Park
- registered nurse and multiple sclerosis patient
Gretchen Steele, Coulterville
WHEN: Tuesday, March 6, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m.
WHERE: The State Capitol, room 400.
S.B. 650, introduced by Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago), is one of about a dozen medical marijuana bills currently under consideration by state legislatures across the country. Eleven states currently have medical marijuana laws: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
With more than 21,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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