Three legislators in Wisconsin have united to introduce a bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The legislators include two Democrats, Erpenbach and Taylor, and Testin who is a Republican.
Sen. Jon Erpenbach, Taylor and Testin in a joint statement on Friday announced that the time has come for the state of Wisconsin to lift the restrictions and legalize the use of marijuana. The bill would create a system that allows patients to be entered into a list through registration and the growers to be issued with a license permitting them to grow cannabis for medical purposes.
In the United States, there are 33 states legally using marijuana either for medical or recreational purposes. Among these are, Michigan and Minnesota. In Colorado and nearly a dozen other states, residents can use marijuana for medical and recreational purposes.
In the statement, Testin said that the government should not decide if marijuana is right for inducing treatment; doctors and patients should be given that mandate to determine if cannabis is right for treating a particular condition.
For the past decade, the Democrats have been trying to pass marijuana legalization bills with no success. However, it is still uncertain whether with the Republican support exemplified by Testin, the bill will be passed into law. Speaker of the Assembly, Robin Vos is open to passing the bill but the Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald has openly voiced his opposition.
Tony Evers, the Democratic governor, had proposed legalization of medical marijuana, in the Winsconsin budget, but the provisions were not included in the final budget plan.
Through his spokesman, the governor did not comment on the bill. Moreover, since he is running for Congress in the year 2020 in a Wisconsin district that is traditionally conservative, his stand on the bill is unlikely to change. Supporting the bill would pose a threat for him as it would be a motivating factor for his primary challengers.
The proposed marijuana legalisation bill has the following terms that have to be met by the doctors, patients and the cannabis growers.
Persons qualifying to receive medical marijuana have to be suffering from one of the following ailments; AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and severe and chronic pain.
Before being registered and joining the list of people to receive medical marijuana treatment, a doctor should diagnose the patient, explain the risk factors as well as the benefits of using medical marijuana.
Patients applying to receive medical marijuana are supposed to pay $250 for registration and $250 in annual fees.
The marijuana registry is not visible to the public and people who are or have been convicted of a drug-related crime are not allowed to join the list.
The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection would set up a licensing system for the growers, if the bill remains as it is. The licensed growers would include persons growing a dozen-plus marijuana plants. Grower would have to pay an initial fee of $250 and an annual fee of $5000. The licensed growers would also be prohibited from growing cannabis for family or personal consumption.
On Friday, Evers tweeted his supports for the bill while pointing to a recent poll by the Marquette University Law School which showed that 83 percent supported the legalization of medical marijuana. In the tweet he wrote that now was the time for physicians to be allowe to prescribe the medication that they felt was best placed to treat their patients.
Analysts believe that the chances of this bill sailing through are too close to call, and they also believe that industry players like IONIC Brands Corp. (CSE: IONC) (OTC: IONKF) and Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (CSE: LXX) (OTCQX: LXRP) would wish that patients have the option of using medical marijuana sooner rather than later.
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