I expected the North Dakota Legislature to reject the legalized medical marijuana bill, but …
I’m stunned lawmakers won’t even study it. The bill, introduced by Rep. Pamela Anderson, D-Fargo, was doomed from the start. Lawmakers wouldn’t vote for it because it came up so quickly, the logistics hadn’t been worked out, concerns from law enforcement, and, of course, because the drug is called marijuana.
However, what’s the harm of studying it? By a 61-32 vote, the House rejected the study. The study would have looked at the regulation, distribution, enforcement, and taxing of medical marijuana. I was hoping lawmakers would look at how it works in the 23 states that have legalized medical marijuana. I was hoping they would learn the successes and failures in those states. I was hoping they would look at the medical marijuana dispensary in Moorhead, which is scheduled to open this summer. I was hoping they would hear from patients who were helped by medical marijuana, as well as those who weren’t.
I was hoping they would read a study on the public health implications of legalizing marijuana in North Dakota, that was written by Jennifer Chevalier, a nursing student at Minot State University. Chevalier found that marijuana is an effective and safe treatment for various medical conditions including chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, epilepsy and cancer.
This issue is not going away. It will come up again in the next legislative session, unless it’s on the 2016 ballot first. I suspect it has more support than legislators realize.
Studying medical marijuana is a far cry from legalizing recreational marijuana, which has happened in four states. The North Dakota Legislature doesn’t meet again until January 2017. Plenty of time to compile useful information on the subject. Too bad the lawmakers don’t want to hear it.
Shaw is a former Fargo TV reporter and news director. Email him at jimshawtv@gmail.com .
