Missouri Medical Marijuana Bill Filed With Bi-Partisan Sponsorship

14 states stand up for medicinal use of cannabis and the other U.S. states are getting in line. Who's next?

(MISSOURI) - A bill to permit Missouri citizens whose doctors believe they benefit from the use of marijuana as medicine to do so without fear of criminal prosecution and imprisonment has been filed by Representative Kate Meiners of Kansas City.

The bill has more sponsors than ever before, with 16 House members signing onto the bill, including Republican Representative Robert Schaaf, a physician from St. Joseph. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia now have laws which permit patients to use marijuana as medicine with the approval of their doctors.

Just last week, New Jersey’s legislature passed such a bill and outgoing Governor Corzine signed it into law on Monday. A few weeks ago, Congress voted to allow the D.C. Medical Marijuana Initiative to take effect there.

In past years, when the Missouri bill had only Democratic sponsorship, House Speaker Ron Richard failed to assign the bill to a committee. With the bipartisan sponsorship the bill now has, it is hoped that the Speaker will assign it to a committee promptly and allow it an opportunity to be heard.

Similar legislation is pending in many other state legislatures across the country. The Illinois Senate passed a medical marijuana bill last year and it is now pending before the House in that state.

A few months ago, the American Medical Association (AMA) reversed its longstanding opposition to the use of marijuana as medicine. The AMA now supports allowing marijuana to be prescribed and acknowledges that it has proven medical use. Medical marijuana legislation is also supported by the American College of Physicians, American Nurses Association and dozens of other major professional and health-related organizations.

House Bill 1670 would place the issue before Missouri voters in November of 2011. In 1994, the Missouri Senate passed SCR 14 which called on Congress to make marijuana available for medical use.

Under current Missouri law, doctors are allowed to prescribe cocaine, opium, methamphetamine and hundreds of other potentially dangerous, addictive drugs. Supporters of the bill say it is absurd to not trust those same doctors with the ability to authorize their patients to also use a relatively safe, non-toxic and non-addictive substance like cannabis. Polls have strong majority support for the measure among Missouri voters.

Source: The Missouri Affiliate of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

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Steve October 15, 2010 11:49 am (Pacific time)

I have been a strong supporter of this issue ever since California passed the 1st laws in 1996 when I lived there. Nice to see some progress being made in the bible belt with this issue. Medically positive? You bet!!! My wife and I were both on narcotic painkillers for years before being abrubtly cut-off from our treatment due to our doctor moving away and the St. John's medical establishment's REFUSAL to safely reduce our medication through another physician. We couldn't even get into a rehab center because we had no insurance, and had not been arrested. for 3 weeks, we both suffered withdrawal symptoms every bit as bad as a herion addict. Finally, after suffering extensively, we decided to use marijuana to help curb these symptoms. Well, long story short, neither one of us takes narcotics anymore, and it was the benefits of marijuana that allowed us to get off those meds without any assistance whatsoever. This is GOOD MEDICINE!

Ryan Steele August 21, 2010 9:01 pm (Pacific time)

Medical marijuana should have been considered long ago. It is 10x safer than pain pills, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. Just remember all you non supporters, NO ONE HAS DIED OF SMOKING MARIJUANA

fgvkvfti March 21, 2010 9:21 pm (Pacific time)

congrogulations usa and all our retards that run it lets let people drink beer and die but the proven harmless and proven harmless weed that god gave us we should ruin their perfect lives and send them to jail for the rest of their lives when the bible clearly sais we should use every herb bearing seed and use its medicine and yet we lie to our youth and say that it causes us to have this sudden erge to do realdrugs aka crack meth heroin and forget how to do everything and yet less than 1 percent of americans who smoke pot do those real drugs

Captain Obvious March 16, 2010 5:45 am (Pacific time)

The system is working just great, cant you tell? Marijuana use leads to other things like eating and relaxing. It clearly states in the law of schedule 1 drug is that is HAS NO ACCEPTABLE MEDICAL USES. Then three pages later it has a list of ACCEPTABLE MEDICAL USES... Clearly the millions of people who feel relief from their chronic pain are really taking part in a mass delusion. And of course we need to be protected from ourselves because we are all too stupid as adults to make our own decisions. So wear your bike helmet, put your seatbelt on, and only take the really strong and hard drugs with horrible side effects given to you by big pharma. Because we all know a plant that has been healing for over 10,000 years (documented) must be controlled!!! I feel so free in my America, I pick up my phone and call my brother so we can get a nice recording of our conversation saved for all time by my government, then I put on my helmet so I cant feel the wind in my hair at 55mph even though my bike is made to go 200mph. Then i go home and take my massive handful of LEGAL prescription drugs which i wash down with a gallon of LEGAL vodka, so I can throw up and ruin my body, throat and liver. It must be better than eating a hash brownie and feeling nearly no side effects other than pain relief. I feel so proud to live in this country of ours. If only it truly was as good as our parents and teachers told us it was..... The people didnt change, we are still here and still good for the most part, its the greedy fools in charge that changed.

ryan h February 22, 2010 1:57 pm (Pacific time)

This would be one of the best things in a while. I suffer from be-nine tremors which are uncontrollable. I was born with it,and every year mine have gotten worse. I can no longer TIG weld, and since then i switched to being an electrician. It makes it very hard to do my other job tasks. I can't even fill my cup over half way just to drink water. Marijuana is the only thing that has ever stopped my tremors cold, but since the birth of my son 8 years ago I stopped in fear of what might happen to my son and my job. I never had to do it while at work. it was always before i went to bed in the privacy of my own home. I hope this gets passed it could help so many other people that need the help.

Ken Wolski, RN January 21, 2010 8:56 pm (Pacific time)

Congratulations, Missouri! Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey www.cmmnj.org

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