Medicinal pot a hard sell here

LINCOLN — In Iowa, the wheels of state government are turning toward making the Hawkeye State the 16th to legalize the use of medical marijuana.

Don't bet on that happening in neighboring Nebraska anytime soon.

“I think it would be a hard sell here,” said State Sen. Tim Gay of Papillion, chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee, the legislative panel that would review such a proposal.

Gay and other officials in the Cornhusker State said they've heard of little, if any, push for legalizing medical marijuana here.

“It's not in the mix of issues that have been brought to us from people seeking assistance,” said Laurel Marsh, executive director of ACLU Nebraska.

But, Marsh added, with the issue gaining publicity in Iowa, she expects that someone eventually will seek legalization here.

There is momentum right now for medical marijuana after the Obama administration decided to end federal raids on medicinal pot dispensaries.

Under the Bush administration, federal agents had closed medical marijuana outlets even if they were legally operating under state laws. The new policy, outlined in October, is to let states decide.

And decide they have.

Fifteen states as well as the District of Columbia now have medical marijuana laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Another 15 states, including Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, are considering legalization bills.

It wasn't a public outcry but the determined efforts of two Iowans that has that state on the doorstep of legalization.

George McMahon and Barbara Douglas were enrolled in the 1970s-era Compassionate Use and Investigational Drug program, a federal program that allowed them to receive monthly shipments of marijuana.

A lawsuit filed on their behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union asserted that Iowa had misclassified marijuana as a dangerous and addictive “Schedule I” drug with no medical benefits. LSD and mescaline, two psychedelic drugs that gained notoriety in the 1960s, are examples of Schedule I drugs.

The lawsuit prompted a Polk County, Iowa, judge to order the Iowa Board of Pharmacy to review whether marijuana should be reclassified as a “Schedule II” drug, which has the potential for harm but also has medicinal benefits. Opium, which can be prescribed, is an example of a Schedule II drug.

The pharmacy board held four public hearings in which advocates praised pot for quelling nausea in cancer and AIDs patients, reducing inner-eye pressure in glaucoma patients and limiting muscle pain in multiple sclerosis patients.

“If you want to be intellectually honest, here's a substance that provides some amazing relief for some people with some very difficult symptoms,” said Randall Wilson, legal director for ACLU Iowa. “We said, hey, more than 25 percent of the U.S. population lives in states where marijuana is used medically.”

Critics say the research on the medical benefits is not conclusive. Organizations like the Food and Drug Administration maintain that not only is there no proven benefit, smoking marijuana is clearly harmful.

The public hearings in Iowa led to a unanimous recommendation by the pharmacy board on Feb. 17 that the Iowa Legislature legalize marijuana for medical use.

The recommendation also suggested that a task force of law enforcement officers, physicians and chronic-pain sufferers be convened to determine how medical marijuana would be distributed and managed.

Don't expect Iowa to follow the lead of California, where a vaguely worded 1996 ballot initiative has led to a near free-for-all of marijuana dispensaries, including 800 in Los Angeles, which some call the marijuana dispensary capital of the country. Critics complain about the loose justifications used by doctors to write prescriptions for pot.

“Let me be very clear on this ... that's not going to pass in the Iowa Legislature,” said State Sen. Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, the Senate majority leader.

Both Gronstal and Wilson say that if access to medicinal marijuana is limited to those suffering from serious diseases, passage of a bill is possible.

Wilson put the odds at 50-50 or better. He pointed to a recent poll in the Des Moines Register that found that 64 percent of Iowans supported medical marijuana, with doctor approval.

In Nebraska, there have been no bills introduced to allow medical marijuana use and no discussion within the Board of Pharmacy.

Hastings pharmacist Patty Gollner, who recently joined the pharmacy board, said she saw a lot of publicity about medicinal pot during a recent skiing trip to Colorado, but she has not been approached by anyone to push for legalization here.

Kevin Borcher, vice chairman of the Nebraska Board of Pharmacy, said it's not an issue that's come up at his job in the pharmacy at Nebraska Methodist Hospital.

“My personal feeling, not related to the board, is there's not enough clear evidence to make it happen,” he said.

Contact the writer:

402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com

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