CT Reps Pass Medicinal Marijuana Bill

CT House of Reps yesterday approved a bill allowing for the cultivation of medicinal marijuana by the terminally and chronically ill:

The state House of Representatives Wednesday passed a measure allowing seriously ill individuals to grow marijuana at home to ease their pain.

The bill passed by a 89-58 bipartisan vote that was comprised of a unique coalition of supportive lawmakers, who appeared to be bonded by their own experiences with family members and friends suffering with chronic or terminal illnesses.

Bill opponents said it sends the wrong message to young people that it is OK to use illegal drugs and that illegal drugs can be good for you.

ButbRep. Russell Morin, D-Wethersfield and a father of three, spoke of another message he wanted to send to his children by passing the bill.

“The message I want to send to them is the message of compassion,” Morin said. “We are not condoning illegal drug use. What this bill will do is show that we care.”

The bill is not limited to the terminally ill. It allows individuals with serious illnesses such as epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and HIV to grow up to four marijuana plants up to 4 feet high in the privacy of their homes if they obtain a doctor’s prescription that it is necessary to ease their pain.

A law already exists legalizing the use of marijuana in certain instances under a pharmacists prescription, but it has never been used because marijuana, as a natural organic product, is not stocked in dispensed in local pharmacies.