Health and Fitness

Oklahoma State Lawmakers Holding Hearing Today on Bill to Allow Medical Marijuana for Patients With Serious Illnesses


OKLAHOMA CITY—(ENEWSPF)—February 26, 2013. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee is holding a hearing today on a bill that would allow patients with serious illnesses to obtain and use medical marijuana if their doctors recommend it. See http://newsok.com/oklahoma-medical-marijuana-bill-granted-hearing/article/3758933
 
SB 710, introduced by State Sen. Constance Johnson (D-Oklahoma City), would allow patients with debilitating medical conditions to privately possess up to eight ounces of marijuana and grow up to 12 marijuana plants in their homes. Patients would also be able to obtain marijuana through state-sanctioned collectives.
 
“Substantial research has concluded that marijuana is an effective treatment for a number of medical conditions and associated symptoms,” said Mason Tvert, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. “It is inhumane to criminalize seriously ill people who are able to alleviate their pain and suffering through the use of medical marijuana.”
 
A hearing on a separate marijuana-related bill will be held Wednesday, Feb. 27 by the House Public Safety Committee. HB 1835, sponsored by Rep. Cory Williams (D-Stillwater), would remove marijuana from the list of substances for which a second or subsequent possession offense results in a felony conviction. Currently, a second marijuana possession offense is punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of two to 10 years in prison.
 
“Every objective study on marijuana has concluded that it is far less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and to society,” Tvert said. “Oklahomans who get caught using marijuana twice should not face harsher penalties than those who are repeatedly found guilty of domestic violence.”
 
The hearing on HB 1835 is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EST in Room 432A of the State Capitol Building.

Source: http://www.mpp.org

 


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