Now that the Minnesota legislature has adjourned, lawmakers are back in their communities explaining just what it was that they did in St. Paul since February.
Mountain Lake Republican Rod Hamilton may have cried on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives during the debate on Minnesota's teeny-tiny medical cannabis bill as he thought about the families his yes vote might help, but Hanska's Paul Torkelson wasn't swayed.
In Area lawmakers evaluate 2014 session, the New Ulm Journal's Clay Schuldt reports:
The lawmakers did not support the passage of the medical marijuana bill.
Torkelson said many of the personal stories from families supporting the legislation were heart-wrenching, but he was not convinced it was good for society and felt it was a slippery slope.
Dahms said there was not enough backing in the medical community for him to support the legislation.
They acknowledged that the bill signed by the Gov. Mark Dayton featured the strictest medical marijuana regulations possible, but they had concerns it would set a negative precedent.
Torkelson might be on to something there with that "slippery slope."
In Minnesota to become 22nd state to legalize medical marijuana, the Northfield News reports that state representative David Bly (DFL-Northfield) that research data collected under the new might help gain understanding of cannabis's medicinal properties:
“This year, Minnesota took an important step toward improving the quality of life of people with serious and terminal medical conditions like cancer, HIV/AIDS and seizure disorders,” said Rep. David Bly (DFL-Northfield). “We forged a strong bipartisan compromise that provides relief to suffering children and adults while addressing concerns of law enforcement and the medical community.”
Bly believes the bill is a first step and can be improved upon in coming years after there is an opportunity to closely examine the research and outcomes − research, he says, that will help us better understand how and why medical cannabis can benefit patients.
Surely another sign of the waning days of Babylon: a hippie liberal legislator from the ivy-covered streets of Northfield talking about research. Heckova negative precedent.
Photo: State senator Gary Dahms and state representative Paul Torkelson at an early town hall meeting. Via New Ulm Journal. These grumpy cats are still opposed to medical cannabis, no matter how tiny MN's new law is.
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