DE - Medical marijuana bill introduced

Medical marijuana bill introduced
Sen. Henry confident she has votes to pass measure this year

By GINGER GIBSON â?¢ The News Journal â?¢ May 28, 2009

DOVER -- Joe Scarborough has survived HIV for 17 years, during which he has also undergone treatment for an aggressive form of cancer. Between chemotherapy and HIV medication, Scarborough was in pain and sometimes couldn't eat.

"When [HIV] medications became available in 1996, the regimes were extremely harsh and very toxic," he said, and he was one of a multitude of patients who turned to marijuana to ease the constant pain and help him stick to the strict schedule for taking his medication -- something he credits for helping him live with the disease so many years.

Scarborough shared his story Wednesday as he stood beside Sen. Margaret Rose Henry as she introduced legislation she said is necessary to improve the quality of life for people suffering long-term health problems and chronic pain. Henry wants Delaware to become the 14th state to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Under Senate Bill 94, residents would be allowed to have up to 6 ounces of marijuana, considered a month's supply, Henry said, and would be issued identification cards to prevent them from being prosecuted for having that amount or less. The state would also license centers to grow and sell marijuana to be sold for medicinal purposes.

Nationwide, efforts like Henry's got a boost last week when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to California's medical marijuana law, allowing the law to stand and the sale of medical marijuana to continue.

Henry said her proposal would not decriminalize marijuana or prevent people who sell or purchase it illegally from being prosecuted.

"The bill calls for setting up compassion centers or centers with the right to grow marijuana," Henry said. "You would not be able to go on the street corner and buy. We're not talking about heroin or the drugs we see on street corners."

The legislation gives the Department of Health and Social Services 120 days after its passage to establish rules and regulations to oversee the issuance of ID cards and licenses to sell marijuana. Henry said the regulations would model other states that allow medical marijuana as a treatment option for residents.

Henry compared the legislation to the needle-exchange program she initiated in 2006 to allow drug users to exchange used needles for new ones to prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases such as HIV.


When she filed that bill, she said, many people worried it would increase drug use and violence. But, she said, it's had the opposite effect, helping people who exchange needles to also learn about treatment programs to get off drugs.

She hopes S.B. 94 will help those who need marijuana to overcome pain and discomfort to stop participating in the underground trade and reduce demand for illegal substances.

The legislation is co-sponsored by Rep. Hazel Plant, D-Wilmington North, and also lists Sens. Karen Peterson, D-Stanton, Robert Venables, D-Laurel, and Liane Sorenson, R-Hockessin.

"I want to thank them for being brave enough to join me on this journey," Henry said of the co-sponsors, "because any time you do something something that is new or innovative in a state, some times it takes people with courage."

Henry said while several people expressed apprehension about having their names listed as co-sponsors, she has spoken with several members of her caucus and believes she has the support to get the legislation passed this year.

Joe Rogalsky, spokesman for Gov. Jack Markell, said the governor is still studying the issue of legalizing medical marijuana and does not yet have a position on the bill.

I hope so much that this passes.. We never really hear any talk about MMJ here in Delaware,, so this is a pleasant surprise!

It would be better for the First State not to be the last state and I like the six ounces but what number of plants and who and what are the requirements to start a dispensary? And the Plant Family generally only backs a winning cause. Old Al Plant, now deceased was a powerhouse in the day. :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by gypski

It would be better for the First State not to be the last state and I like the six ounces but what number of plants and who and what are the requirements to start a dispensary? And the Plant Family generally only backs a winning cause. Old Al Plant, now deceased was a powerhouse in the day. :thumbsup:

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In the local paper today it said that people would be able to possess up to 6 ounces, or grow up to 12 plants in their home, legally. And from what I understand, they plan on opening up state-run "compassion centers" for those who have state-issued MMJ ID cards.

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Originally Posted by The Colonel

In the local paper today it said that people would be able to possess up to 6 ounces, or grow up to 12 plants in their home, legally. And from what I understand, they plan on opening up state-run "compassion centers" for those who have state-issued MMJ ID cards.

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Delaware doesn't have state run liquor stores so what's the deal against licensed cannabis shops just like tobacco shops. A waste of state resources. They still have to try and control everything to minutia including ID cards so they know every MMJ user. Bullshitski!@ . Other then that, excellent. :jointsmile:

Marijuana Bill Clears Delaware Senate Panel
Posted by CN Staff on June 04, 2009 at 07:02:42 PT
By Randall Chase, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press

Dover, Del. -- A bill that would allow the use of medical marijuana in Delaware cleared a Senate committee Wednesday with no opposition.

The Senate Health and Social Services committee released the bill Wednesday after a 90-minute hearing in which no one spoke against it. Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, the chief sponsor, said amendments to clarify language in the bill will be drafted before it is brought up for a vote by the full Senate.

As written, the bill would allow people with debilitating medical conditions such as glaucoma, cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis to use marijuana to treat their conditions or alleviate their symptoms.

Anyone seeking to use medical marijuana would be required to submit written certification from a medical practitioner licensed to prescribe drugs that it likely would provide therapeutic benefit. The patient, or a designated caregiver, would then receive an identification card permitting him or her to grow marijuana or purchase it from state-regulated, nonprofit "compassion centers."

The measure, based on model legislation developed by the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, would allow a qualifying patient or caregiver to possess up to 12 marijuana plants and up to six ounces of usable marijuana. Supporters said that amount is less than what the federal government has determined would be a one-month supply for patients in an investigational drug program.

Noah Mamber, legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project, said 13 states currently have medical marijuana laws, and the legislation is pending in a handful of others.

The Medical Society of Delaware has decided not to take a position on the bill, according to Robert Byrd, a lobbyist for the organization. Byrd said members of the society's legislative committee discussed the bill Monday, and there were "very strong feelings" on both sides of the issue.

Sen. Patricia Blevins expressed concern that if the list of conditions eligible for treatment with medical marijuana is too broad, the bill could face difficulty passing muster with lawmakers and law enforcement officials.

"We may have difficulty in getting the necessary relief to the people who need it," said Blevins, D-Elsmere.

But Henry, D-Wilmington, responded that "pain is a relative thing," and that she was wary of narrowly limiting the conditions for which medical marijuana might be useful.

"We don't know what will always help and benefit a person," she said.

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Randall Chase, Associated Press Writer
Published: June 4, 2009
Copyright: 2009 The Associated Press
URL: Medical marijuana bill clears Delaware Senate panel â?¢ Region (www.HometownAnnapolis.com - The Capital)

Medical Marijuana Is a Necessary Compassion

Thursday, June 4, 2009, 12:27

State Sen. Margaret Rose Henry, who won the long and necessary fight for a needle-exchange program for street drug addicts, is moving with as much forethought on the issue of medical marijuana.

She is backed by a growing medical community consensus and possibly critical judicial authority.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to Californiaâ??s medical marijuana law, thus allowing it to stand. Likely, the nationâ??s highest court has come to the right conclusion about marijuanaâ??s value in terms of alleviating patient suffering, particularly the excruciating pain and side effects from treatments for catastrophic illnesses.

Sen. Henry wants Delaware to become the 14th state to legalize marijuana solely for such purposes. Senate Bill 94 would require doctor certification of the medical need. Residents would be allowed to have up to 6 ounces of marijuana for a monthâ??s supply and be issued identification cards to prevent prosecution for having that amount or less. A regulated process would be used to allow patients to grow their own plants. The state would license centers to grow marijuana for medicinal purposes.

S.B. 94 would usher Delaware into an appropriately modern era allowing the state to address a legitimate social need by users of banned substances. In the case of dirty needles, addicts are able to exchange them for clean ones to avoid transmission of HIV, one of the leading causes of AIDS in that population.

But there are lessons to be learned from elsewhere. For example, patients in Washington and Oregon worry about tainted batches of â??potâ?� from poorly monitored and regulated facilities, even state-managed sites. They urge distribution from accredited medical facilities.

Other states rightly worry that some users wonâ??t be able to comply with regimented laws and resort to the black market.

By barring patients and caregivers from growing their own marijuana plants, Oregon calculated, it could raise $188 million a year for the state budget off 10,000 pounds of medical marijuana sold each month. Patients would pay state tax of $98 per ounce.

In this current economy, the profit potential is enticing.

But S.B. 94â??s priority should be to quickly provide access to a consoling drug for ailing patients in keeping with the medicinal adage to do no harm.

Source: News Journal, The (Wilmington, DE)
Copyright: 2009 The News Journal
Website: Delawareonline.com | The News Journal | Wilmington news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Wilmington, DE

What other medical patients have to get a state ID card to receive medicine? And I'm not talking about a State Health Card. I'm talking about a card that could potentially target a person because they are a medical marijuana patient. What ever happend to privacy concerning medical conditions??? The worst part of any bill is a state run data base or registry. :mad::wtf:

And the part about Washington and Oregon, I don't know where they picked that up. The only ones crying that tune are the corporate raiders stealthly trying to take over the medical marijuana industry. :wtf:

:thumbsup: :D :rasta:...good-lookin' Delaware.Its been a long time coming...

the bill has moved out of the House committee and on to the Senate for a final vote. I, for one certainly hope this bill passes. Its where my family lives and besides Pa, its my home state. :thumbsup: I'm a marijuana refugee living legally in Wa. :jointsmile: But, my mother was born in WA, so I'm half native!!!!!:D