Marijuana’s
medical efficacy both championed and questioned in Des Moines
The Iowa
Board of Pharmacy recognized marijuana’s medical value in 2010, yet the Iowa
Legislature has taken no action since to pass effective medical marijuana
legislation benefiting the citizens of Iowa. Although no action was taken, multiple
marijuana-policy-related bills, both good and bad, were considered last year
and are back up for consideration in the second year of the 2011-2012 legislative
session.
After an embarrassing scandal involving Rep. Clel Baudler’s (R-Greenfield) fraudulent misrepresentation to a California physician to get a medical marijuana
recommendation, he sponsored a bill hostile to medical marijuana. Rep.
Baudler’s H.F. 183 seeks to deny marijuana’s medical value by placing it
only in Schedule I (it is currently also in Iowa’s Schedule II) and remove the
Board’s ability to make medical marijuana rules. H.F. 183 did not get voted on
in the House Public Safety Committee before the legislature adjourned for the
rest of 2011. Unfortunately, now that the legislature has returned, the bill is
alive again in the House Public Safety Committee. Additionally, the Board of
Pharmacy itself introduced S.S.B. 1016, which would place marijuana only
in Schedule II, recognizing its medical value, while also removing the Board’s
rulemaking power. S.S.B. 1016 died in the Senate Human Resources Committee and
has not yet been reintroduced. Finally, Governor Terry Branstad (R) has introduced his own bill – SSB 3031 – that is
similar to Rep. Baulder's.
Thankfully, our champion, Senator Joe
Bolkcom (D-Iowa City), introduced S.F. 266 in 2011, effective medical marijuana
legislation based on MPP’s model bill that includes both home cultivation and
dispensaries. It would allow qualifying patients to possess 2.5 ounces of
marijuana and six plants. For the first time, it passed out of the Senate Human
Services subcommittee meeting, 2-0, but it then died in the full committee. It
has yet to be reassigned in 2012.
Please send your state legislators an email today asking them to support legislation to provide
medical marijuana patients with the protection they need.
Past Legislative Efforts and the
2010 Board of Pharmacy Ruling
In 2009, Sen. Bolkcom sponsored S.F. 293,
similar medical marijuana legislation, and in March 2009, it received a
substantive subcommittee meeting. However, it failed to get a full committee
vote in 2009 and 2010, as did its 2010 House companion bill, H.F. 2179,
and both bills died. Sen. Tom Courtney (D-Burlington) introduced a medical
marijuana task force bill, S.R. 115,
in March 2010 that also died.
In 2009-2010, MPP worked with Carl Olsen and Iowa Patients
to lobby the Board of Pharmacy. Thank you to all who participated! You can watch the testimony here. On
February 17, 2010, the Board of Pharmacy voted 6-0 to recognize marijuana’s
medical value and to recommend
that the legislature reschedule marijuana to only Schedule II. The
public also supports medical marijuana. A February 2010 Seltzer & Co. Iowa poll found that 64% of Iowans support patient use of medical marijuana with a doctor's approval!
Are
you a patient?
If you are supportive and are a
medical professional, a seriously ill patient who might benefit from medical
marijuana, a law enforcement official, a clergy member, or a member of the
legal community, or you know someone else that is, please email state@mpp.org to see how you can be of special
help. Please include your address or nine-digit ZIP code. You can check out
Iowa patients telling their stories here.
Learn more about Iowa’s marijuana laws
Iowa has harsh marijuana laws and
arrested more than 6,800 people for marijuana offenses in 2007. First-offense
possession of even a single joint is punishable by up to six months in jail and
a $1000 fine, one of the most severe first offense penalties in the country.
You can learn more about Iowa’s marijuana penalties and enforcement by reading this report by economist Jon Gettman, PhD.
Stay connected
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