illinois state makes pot leagle for the sick

Illinois took a big step forward Wednesday when the state Senate approved a plan to let sick people use pot for relief from such diseases as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

The Illinois Senate voted 30-28 and the bill now goes to the Illinois House. A House committee passed a similar measure earlier this year.

“One of the purposes of this bill is to avoid the situation where someone suffering has to go to the criminal element to buy this marijuana substance,” said the sponsor, Sen. Bill Haine, an Alton Democrat and former prosecutor.

Medical marijuana advocates say the drug can ease pain without the side effects of heavier prescription drugs and can reduce nausea from such treatments as chemotherapy.

The measure, which is good for three years, would create an Illinois Department of Public Health registry card for people eligible for the medical marijuana. The amount of marijuana allowed would be seven plants or two ounces of the dried drug.

Other diseases that would make people eligible to use marijuana include the severe digestive disorder Crohn’s disease, hepatitis C and ALS.

Against it
Critics argue allowing medical marijuana would make it harder for police to enforce other marijuana laws and would be a step toward wholesale legalization of pot.

For it
If a medical marijuana bill is eventually signed into law, Illinois would join 13 other states, including California, that have such measures in place, said Bruce Mirken, spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Thats a hard to discuss because some folks simply abuse the right to something and end up ruining for everyone else.