Montel Williams Urges Lawmakers To Pass Medical Marijuana Bill

[voivod]

Source: Associated Press

Hartford, Conn. -- Syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams choked back tears Friday as he urged Connecticut lawmakers to pass a bill legalizing marijuana use for medical purposes.
Williams, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, said he uses marijuana in various forms to help alleviate intense pain and debilitating symptoms.

"I have to pray that the local law enforcement gives me a right of passage back to my state. Because when I walk out of here, I will smoke pot," said the New York resident.

"I have to stay ahead of the pain," he said.

Lawmakers are again considering a bill that legalizes marijuana use for people suffering from certain debilitating medical conditions diagnosed by a doctor. This year's version would allow residents at least 18 years old to cultivate up to four plants in a secure, indoor facility.

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, 11 states allow patients to use marijuana despite federal laws against it. A 12th state, Maryland, protects patients from jail but not arrest.

Connecticut already has a medical marijuana law, one of the first in the nation. Under the 1981 law, a doctor can prescribe the illegal drug to relieve nausea associated with chemotherapy and eye pressure from glaucoma.

But the law is unworkable because, under federal law, a physician who prescribes marijuana can be sent to prison and risks having his or her medical license revoked.

Proponents said they're hopeful the bill will pass this year. It has already cleared one legislative committee.

"I feel legislators are finally at the place where they want to act compassionately with this law," said Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Somers, who said she risked arrest more than 20 years ago to get marijuana for her husband, who eventually died of bone cancer.

Rep. Marie Kirkley-Bey, D-Hartford, said she has become a convert on the issue after two of her cousins recently died of cancer. She said both suffered extreme pain.

"It took a life-changing experience to realize," Kirkley-Bey said. "I was being small-minded on this issue."

But some at the Capitol said Friday the bill sends the wrong message about drug use, especially to young people.

"These people come here to this legislature talking about pain. You don't know what pain is until you've lost a son," said Steven Steiner of New York, founder of Americans for a Drug Free Youth, whose 19-year-old son died from prescription drug overdose. Steiner said his son had begun using marijuana when he was 13.

Rep. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, held a news conference earlier in the morning to counter Williams' appearance at the Capitol. While she contends marijuana may alleviate the symptoms of some medical conditions for some patients, Boucher said she believes legalizing marijuana for medical purposes will ultimately lead to full legalization of the drug.

Boucher also questioned why the state would condone smoking of the drug, which she claimed poses an additional health risk to patients.

"It makes no sense, no matter how many celebrities we have in this building," said Boucher, who only supports the medical use of marijuana for terminally ill people. She said others can use marijuana in a pill or spray.

Rep. Lawrence Miller, R-Stratford, said he decided against "smoking some kind of a weed" after being diagnosed eight years ago with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cell. Miller said, through trial and error, he found the right drugs to stave off the symptoms.

"Medical marijuana, it's still marijuana - put any name in front of it that you want," Miller said. "I think we should just stick with the doctors."

Williams ticked off a laundry list of powerful prescription drugs he takes daily. He said it's the marijuana that works the best. He mixes the plant into cookies, smokes it in the evenings before he sleeps, and drinks a liquid form during the day.

"I don't get the buzz, I don't get the high," Williams said. "Right now, all it does for me is stop the pain."

Complete Title: Montel Williams Makes Emotional Plea for Medical Marijuana Bill

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Published: March 23, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Associated Press

Related Articles & Web Sites:

Montel Williams Show
http://www.montelshow.com/

Montel Williams MS Foundation
http://www.montelms.org/

Judiciary Panel OKs Medical Marijuana
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22790.shtml

Lawmakers Resurrect Bill To Allow MMJ Use
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22788.shtml

[Wickett]

It never ceases to amaze me that these officials will speak about the evils of weed, then head off to a cocktail party at the end of the day. Get it legalized and tax it, for Pete's sake

[Otis5150]

"These people come here to this legislature talking about pain. You don't know what pain is until you've lost a son," said Steven Steiner of New York, founder of Americans for a Drug Free Youth, whose 19-year-old son died from prescription drug overdose. Steiner said his son had begun using marijuana when he was 13.

This is one of the weakest arguments out there: the Gateway Drug concept. There is no such thing. What does pot have to do with a kid overdosing on prescription drugs???

Alcohol does not lead to pot or pot to harder stuff, etc....

[FORD]

The government, particularly this corporate corrupted Fraudministration, hates medical marijuana for one reason and one reason only.....

Nobody can patent a PLANT, so they can't make millions from it. And marijuana just happens to be more effective in a number of medical applications than the chemically created pharmaceuticals.

If Cho Seng-Hui had been a stoner, instead of on some prescribed brain altering chemicals, there would be 33 more people alive in Virginia today.

[FORD]

This is one of the weakest arguments out there: the Gateway Drug concept. There is no such thing. What does pot have to do with a kid overdosing on prescription drugs???

Alcohol does not lead to pot or pot to harder stuff, etc....

The guy's kid OD's on prescription drugs, yet he leads a crusade against a fucking plant?? And guess who funds his crusade? Yep.... the bastards who really killed his son.

[chefcraig]

The government, particularly this corporate corrupted Fraudministration, hates medical marijuana for one reason and one reason only.....

Nobody can patent a PLANT, so they can't make millions from it.

This is the same reason for the lack of support for solar power: The government can not come up with a way to tax sunlight.

Make it legal, sold nationally and tax the living shit out of it. Remember, it's "Mothers Against Drunk (not stoned) Drivers" for a reason.

And no, I'm not advocating driving under the influence of either.

[muffdiver]

Up here the government buys a kilo of weed for $330.00 and sells it for $5000

Talk about a profit....

[chefcraig]

Up here the government buys a kilo of weed for $330.00 and sells it for $5000.

Uhhh...any word on who they buy it from, and do they ship?

[Otis5150]

All I know is, that after watching my uncle die painfully from stomach cancer, legalizing weed for pain management doesn't seem so horrible. The irony was that they were giving him so much morphine for the pain, which wasn't working after a while, that the doctor said they couldn't give him any more without killing him. My dad look at his brother who was literally screaming in pain despite the loads of morphine coursing through his system, looked back at the doctor and said, "so?".

[wham bam will rock]

It never ceases to amaze me that these officials will speak about the evils of weed, then head off to a cocktail party at the end of the day. Get it legalized and tax it, for Pete's sake

Couldn't have said it better my friend.

Brilliant!

[wham bam will rock]

The government, particularly this corporate corrupted Fraudministration, hates medical marijuana for one reason and one reason only.....

Nobody can patent a PLANT, so they can't make millions from it. And marijuana just happens to be more effective in a number of medical applications than the chemically created pharmaceuticals.

If Cho Seng-Hui had been a stoner, instead of on some prescribed brain altering chemicals, there would be 33 more people alive in Virginia today.

Well said Ford!

People think 'Just Say No' is about 'saving our kids' from drugs.

It's NOT!

Everything comes down to money. It is ALWAYS about money.

The government hates drug dealers under the guise of protecting society from illegal drugs. They just get pissed when people make money without that money being taxed.

Just that simple.

[FORD]

The taxation isn't the main issue, because that would be easy enough to fix. Legalize it, regulate it like alcohol or tobacco, and tax the Hell out of it, like they do those two legal drugs.

This is more about licensing and exclusivity than it is taxation. As I said, no pharmaceutical company can patent a plant or any plant based medicine, which is why they hate any sort of medicinal herbs, not just the kind that also have recreational uses.

And in the case of the current Fraudministration, nearly everyone in Chimpy's original cabinet had ties to the pharmaceutical industry. Poppy Bush actually was on the Eli Lilly board of directors for decades. He may still be, I'm not sure. Donald Rumsfeld was CEO of Searle Pharmaceuticals at the time when they released the artificial sweetener aspartame (marketed as "Nutra-Sweet") and that shit has been linked to a number of ailments including everything from headaches and depression to brain cancer and "Gulf War syndrome".

And the comparison to solar energy is valid as well. Just as big pharma can't own a plant, neither can EXXON or Texaco own the sun. Or the wind, for that matter, in areas where windmill turbines would be a great idea for energy.

[JCJanko]

The taxation isn't the main issue, because that would be easy enough to fix. Legalize it, regulate it like alcohol or tobacco, and tax the Hell out of it, like they do those two legal drugs.

Man, I come in here to view an issue I thought we could all agree on, and, well...

I'm referring to the tax part.

[FORD]

Man, I come in here to view an issue I thought we could all agree on, and, well...

I'm referring to the tax part.

Meaning you don't want to pay tax on your weed?

Look at it this way, black market drug sales are the ultimate example of what lack of competition does to a market. The only real expense in growing dope (not that I'm an expert of any kind) is the electricity used to power those hydroponic lights. If it were legal to grow your own, or purchase it legally, the price would drop dramatically, so even if they taxed the shit out of it, you would still probably pay less than you do now.

I'd be more worried that they would try to regulate the content of the weed itself. Like in the states where you still can't buy beer over 5% alcohol? They would also become "weak weed" states.

[Kevy5150]

LEGALIZE IT ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!