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MONTPELIER, VERMONT
- April 25 -
Vermont's Senate Health and Welfare Committee unanimously approved H. 645, the medical marijuana bill, by a vote of 5-0 today. The legislation would protect seriously ill patients from the threat of arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment for using medical marijuana with the approval of their doctors. Last month the Republican-controlled Vermont House of Representatives passed H. 645 by a vote of 82-59.
"This is a tremendous victory for seriously ill patients," said Billy Rogers, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. "Health and Welfare Committee members understand that it's a crime to put cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis patients in prison for the simple act of taking their medicine."
The bill would allow a seriously ill patient or the patient's designated caregiver to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and seven plants, three of which may be mature, under a doctor's recommendation. The legislation also requires indoor cultivation of medical marijuana and requires physicians to notify the Department of Public Safety when they issue a recommendation. Eight states -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington -- have laws that allow the medical use of marijuana. If H. 645 passes the Senate and goes on to become law, it would be among the most strict medical marijuana laws in the country.
Rogers said it's likely the Senate will vote in favor of the legislation if the bill clears a final hurdle in the Senate's Judiciary Committee. The Judiciary is likely to hear testimony on the bill next week.
"The pundits in Montpelier and elsewhere pronounced the medical marijuana bill dead on arrival when Representative David Zuckerman (P-Burlington) introduced it earlier this year," Rogers said. "H. 645 has overcome powerful opposition from Governor Howard Dean because courageous medical marijuana patients -- who risk arrest and imprisonment every day -- delivered powerful testimony in House and Senate committees. Patients convinced legislators that seriously ill Vermonters shouldn't go to jail for the simple act of taking their medicine. A vote for H. 645 is a vote to protect patients and a vote against H. 645 is a vote to put sick people in prison."
The Marijuana Policy Project works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors.
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