U.S. House Vote Blocking Feds from Meddling in State Medical Pot Laws Surprises Even Advocates
"[Cannabis] is actually less dangerous than some narcotics prescribed by doctors"
"[Cannabis] is actually less dangerous than some narcotics prescribed by doctors"
| [Credit: Associated Press] |
SOURCE: www.OregonLive.com
AUTHOR: Noelle Crombie
An amendment barring the U.S. Department of Justice from interfering with state medical marijuana laws got a surprising boost from GOP lawmakers.
Though many Republican lawmakers remain opposed to marijuana reform, others view the federal war on drugs as overreach "and a violation of the rights of more than two dozen states that have legalized cannabis or specific components of it for medical use," the Los Angeles Times reports. The U.S. House narrowly passed the amendment Friday; it now heads to the Democratic Senate.
Writes LA Times reporter Evan Halper:
Most GOP stalwarts, of course, continue to rail against liberalization of the laws. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, a physician, declared during floor debate that medical marijuana is a sham. Real medicine, he said, "is not two joints a day, not a brownie here, a biscuit there. That is not modern medicine."
But in a sign of how the times are changing, he found himself challenged by a colleague from his own caucus who is also a doctor. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) spoke passionately in favor of the bill. "It has very valid medical uses under direction of a doctor," he said. "It is actually less dangerous than some narcotics prescribed by doctors all over the country." Georgia is among the many states experimenting with medical marijuana. A state program there allows its limited use to treat children with severe epileptic seizures.
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