Title:
Conn. House votes to protect medical marijuana patients
Message:
Last night, after hours of debate, the Connecticut House of Representatives voted 96-51 to allow the medical use of marijuana. The bill — HB 5389 — now heads to the Senate floor.
It’s exciting that the legislature is moving to protect patients, but unfortunately the bill may not be workable. Please write your senator to ask him or her to support and amend HB 5389 to ensure that patients are truly protected.
Connecticut’s bill would only allow patients to obtain marijuana from dispensaries, which in turn could only obtain marijuana from licensed producers. Only pharmacists could apply to operate dispensaries, but it’s possible no pharmacists would do so because dispensing marijuana is against federal law. In addition, producers would have to pay a $25,000+ non-refundable application fee and have $2 million in escrow in a financial institution. These high hurdles make it possible that no one would apply to operate dispensaries or be producers, leaving patients without access to their medicine.
Please ask your senator to propose relaxing these requirements and to allow patients to grow their own medicine, at least under some circumstances.
