cannabisnews.com: Senate To See Rx Marijuana Bill





Senate To See Rx Marijuana Bill
Posted by CN Staff on February 21, 2007 at 06:31:53 PT
By Neal Goswami, Staff Writer
Source: Bennington Banner
Bennington, VT -- A new medical marijuana bill is close to reaching the Senate floor after it unanimously passed in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee Tuesday. Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Sen. Doug Racine, D-Chittenden, said the bill, S.07, introduced by Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, is bound for the Senate Finance Committee because changes to a fee are included in the bill. That is likely to be a formality, however, and the legislation should reach the Senate floor shortly, according Racine.
The purpose of the bill is to raise the amount of marijuana a registered patient can possess to six mature plants, 18 immature plants and four ounces of usable marijuana. Current law only allows for one mature plant, two immature plants and two ounces of usable marijuana. In addition, the registration fee for patients would be reduced from $100 to $50. Vermont became the 10th state in 2004 to pass medical marijuana legislation and is now one of 11 states that allow medical marijuana use. There are currently has 33 registered patients. Sears' bill also expands the number of conditions that would qualify for medical marijuana. In addition to ailments such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis, the bill would allow for patients with glaucoma, cachexia, wasting syndrome and severe pain, nausea or seizures. The committee considered two amendments to the bill, approving one Tuesday that will restrict who is eligible to prescribe medical marijuana for a patient, said Racine. In the committee's view, the definition of a physician within the bill needed to be narrowed to protect against abuse, he said. "We thought the definition was too loose in the bill that was received," said Racine. According to Racine, the amendment clarifies which out-of-state physicians will be allowed to write a prescription for marijuana. The original version of the bill says that any person that is licensed ... "and is licensed with authority to prescribe drugs" is considered an eligible physician. The amendment will limit eligible physicians to those that "practice medicine and prescribe drugs under comparable provisions in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York," said Racine. The committee wanted to accommodate Vermont residents who have doctors or specialists in bordering states, but restrict patients from seeking far-off doctors to write them a prescription, said Racine. "The point was that folks along the border will often visit doctors or hospitals out-of-state," said Racine "The way it was written it could be someone from California. We didn't want it to be a situation where questionable people from California were calling in prescriptions." Source: Bennington Banner (VT)Author: Neal Goswami, , Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, February 21, 2007Copyright: 2007 by MediaNews Group, Inc.Contact: news benningtonbanner.comWebsite: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Related Articles: Panel Approves Expansion of MMJ Programhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22545.shtmlSenate Looks To Expand Rx Marijuana Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22544.shtmlPatients Argue for Expansion of MMJ Lawhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22510.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by dongenero on February 21, 2007 at 10:11:39 PT
Dankhank #1
I often think of how much the world lost when we lost John Lennon. 
Thanks for the links.
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on February 21, 2007 at 07:29:30 PT
Jack is going on tour with new addition of book
if the reformers would like to have a good book on how the Cannabis Prohibition came to be please read Jack book.Any ideas of how more people can read this book and where Jack can go and speak on tour can only help.The USA is the only industrial country on the face of the planet that outlaws the growing of this plant.I hope that more reporters will report on the hundreds of uses of Cannabis. 
IT should be a question all those that are running for President have to anwser.cheers Hank
http://www.jackherer.com
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 21, 2007 at 07:25:12 PT
Toker00 and Dankhank
Last night I was going thru some of my VCDs I made when I had a DVD Recorder and found one with Peter Coyote on the 60s Generation. It was amazing to see again now that our country is exactly where we were with Vietnam. We were right and I know that more then ever. They showed George Wallace and how he stirred anger for the young activists that he so hatefully called hippies. The people they interviewed seemed fired up by hate towards our young people mostly from the north. What made them hate like they did? It was scary to think that if they could have got rid of all of us they would have been happy. They seemed jealous to me. Jealousy stirs hate.
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Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on February 21, 2007 at 07:11:30 PT
Cannabis. It'll put the PLANT back in our PLANET!
Or something like that. We need a positive campaign for our struggling movement. We need a boost, a "surge". And I am so damn glad to see our brother Dankhank has healthy fingers again. Welcome back.Once again, I feel like Richard Dreyfus in Close Encounters. I have had a driving urge to CREATE Peace. To Honor Creation and John Lennon, as well. Sooo, FoM, I re-created my Peace signs. I put John's album cover Imagine with his self-portrait and the words to the Title song written beside it. One is a cannabis leaf with gold edges. The Flag one just got thirteen stripes instead of the Peace Heart. All are overlaid with the "SIGN". Waiting for March 17 to use the flag and the Imagine one. That is also St. Patrick's Day. Being Irish/Dutch/American and protesting War with Peace. Makes me spirit soar! I won't make the Pentagon march, but I will try to enlighten Houston!Thanks for the Youtube links Hank! Yeah, he knew.Toke. 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 21, 2007 at 06:57:13 PT
Dankhank
I am glad to see you. I was concerned you were sick. The way I see it is it is always the darkest just before dawn. The closer we get the angrier they get. I have hope that change will come in the next couple of years. I haven't had hope since Bush was made president. 
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Comment #1 posted by Dankhank on February 21, 2007 at 06:41:07 PT
a little sanity in the dark and gloom?
this seems like a good thing ...for any as funked out as I these days I offer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL4vZUHQbZQand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kMHXOTkq8MJohn knew .....
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