Representative-elect Peggy Bennett (R-Albert Lea) appears to be one of those rare folks who thinks Minnesota's restrictive medical cannabis laws isn't stringent enough.
In an unsigned article, the Austin Daily Herald reports in Back to St. Paul:
. . .Bennett said she thinks medical marijuana should be treated like any other prescription drug — including studies and regulations.
“I’m all for meeting medical needs, and if there’s other conditions that would benefit from medical marijuana, to me the physicians and such should work with that,” she said, noting she thinks it needs increased regulation.
Our November 2014 review of new state representatives' positions on medical cannabis had not discovered a position for the grade school teacher.
Here's hoping that she'll has one of those flip-flopping experiences about this issue similar to that experienced by Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), who spoke during the floor debate about how meeting those seeking to use safe, legal medical cannabus changed his mind.
Minnesota's medical marijuana law is one of the strictest in the country. WCCO's Pat Kessler examined the question back in May 2014 in Reality Check: MN’s New Restrictive Medical Marijuana Law:
Without public fanfare, Gov. Mark Dayton signed the bill Thursday morning that legalizes medical cannabis for specific illnesses, but includes some of the strictest controls in the country.
Of the 22 states and the District of Columbia where medical cannabis is legal, Minnesota’s new law is among the most cautious.
Unlike most states with medical marijuana laws, Minnesota does not allow the smoking of marijuana leaves. Only the use of pills, oils, or vaporizing of a cannabis compound through a device similar to an e-cigarette is allowed.
In fact, Minnesota’s strict new medical marijuana law does not allow smoking, home cultivation and allows only two cannabis dispensaries statewide. It’s also a felony to transfer medical pot to a non-patient. . .
Read the rest at WCCO. We don't see the need for more regulation.
Photo: Medical cannabis oil.
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I would like to know what increased regulations Rep. Peggy Bennett wants. Minnesota already has one of the most restrictive medical cannabis laws in the country. I thought that Republicans wanted less regulations and smaller government. Oh yeah, I forgot that it only applies to big money corporate America, not when it comes to helping actual living human beings.
Posted by: CeAnne Ryding-Becker | Jan 06, 2015 at 01:39 AM
How did America ever survive those first 161 years that pot was legal for industrial medical and recreational use with virtually no regulation at all?
Why do we call it Marijuana when for the first 161 yrs most of America called it by its proper names of cannabis or hemp?
Posted by: Legalizepotusa | Jan 07, 2015 at 06:00 PM