Title:
Ask Governor Schweitzer to support efforts to reclassify marijuana
Message:
As you may have heard, Governors Christine Gregoire of
Washington and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island recently
submitted a petition asking the federal government to change its policy
with respect to medical marijuana. Marijuana is currently considered a “Schedule
I” drug, with a high potential for abuse and “no currently accepted medical use
in treatment in the United States.” As over 19,000 patients currently enrolled
in Montana’s medical marijuana program can tell you, that is patently false.
Unfortunately, the petition only asks that marijuana be
moved to Schedule II, which would
still leave it very difficult for patients to obtain medicine. And
regrettably, Chafee and Gregoire have used the petition as cover for their
failure to implement laws passed by their state legislatures that would have
made medical marijuana available to patients through well-regulated channels.
Nonetheless, moving marijuana out of Schedule I is an important step in the
right direction that other governors should support.
Please ask Montana Governor Brian
Schweitzer to join other governors in asking the federal government to
reclassify marijuana.
Montana’s lack of a regulated network of
dispensaries makes
it difficult for patients to safely obtain marijuana, and there are 34
states
with no medical marijuana laws at all. Reclassification would make it
possible
for marijuana to be prescribed and dispensed through traditional
channels. Governors from Vermont and Connecticut have already announced
that they will join the rescheduling effort, and you can ask Governor
Schweitzer
to do the same by emailing him now.
