Press Release: Medical Marijuana Passes House Public Safety Policy & Oversight Committee, 9-6

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
MARCH 24, 2009

Medical Marijuana Passes House Public Safety Policy & Oversight Committee, 9-6

CONTACT: Former Rep. Chris DeLaForest (R-Andover)........................................................(763) 439-1178

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA -- The House Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee passed the House version of Minnesota's medical marijuana bill, H.F. 292, today by a vote of  9 to 6. The vote is the latest in a string of solid committee wins for the House and Senate versions of the popular measure.

     Norm Stamper, former chief of police for the city Seattle, testified in favor of the bill. "As Seattle's police chief, I had real-world experience dealing with Washington's medical marijuana law, and can say from first-hand knowledge that medical marijuana is not a problem for law enforcement," Stamper said. "The Minnesota bill has solid safeguards built into it, and the problems being speculated about by some opponents simply do not reflect reality."

     Laws protecting patients from arrest and jail for using medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation are in effect in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Michigan's is the most recently enacted, passing with a record-setting 63 percent "yes" vote last November.

     Organizations that have recognized marijuana's medical uses include the American College of Physicians, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, among others.
   

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