 The state Senate agrees that smoking or eating the illegal drug
eases pain and nausea in people suffering from a variety of ills,
without the sometimes harsh side effects of existing medicine. The
Senate voted last spring to approve using marijuana under a doctor's
care, but the House failed to go along."In narrowly defined
instances where a doctor believes this treatment would alleviate the
suffering of an individual suffering with a debilitating disease
like glaucoma, I would be inclined to allow a licensed doctor to
prescribe such treatment," said candidate Dan Proft, a Chicago
public relations consultant, in answer to an Associated Press
questionnaire.
GOP hopeful Adam Andrzejewski, a suburban Chicago businessman,
would support the measure that passed the Senate, and Jim Ryan,
former attorney general, would, like Proft, be "open to a narrowly
drawn bill."
More than a dozen states allow marijuana use for medicinal
purposes.
Strangely, so does Illinois. Medical marijuana was legalized here
in 1978, but it has languished; bureaucrats have never implemented
the practice.
The pending legislation would set up a public-health registry of
people using doctor-approved marijuana to relieve the pain of, for
example, Crohn's disease, or the upset stomach caused by
chemotherapy. Patients could possess seven plants or 2 ounces of the
dried drug.
"People who are seriously ill deserve access to all medical
treatments that will help them fight their illness and recover,"
said Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, while not promising to support
specific legislation.
His opponent in the February primary, Comptroller Dan Hynes, did
not answer the question. He said he opposes "outright legalization
of marijuana" and proposed rewriting drug laws to review priorities
and criminal sentencing.
On the opposite end, Green Party candidate Rich Whitney, a
Carbondale lawyer, backs general legalization.
"If a bill to legalize marijuana for medical purposes only came
to my desk, I would still sign it as a positive first step and a
good in and of itself," Whitney said. "But I would continue the
fight for full legalization."
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That's exactly what worries Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington.
"Legalizing medical marijuana appears to me to be nothing more
than moving us down the slope of legalizing marijuana," Brady said.
"According to experts, there are adequate medical alternatives."
Brady also believes the federal government should be the
pharmaceutical regulator. Illinois does not have the resources to
determine what treatments are viable.
To Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, enforcement is the
key. He opposes medical marijuana, saying authorities are concerned
about how they will police the law.
Andy McKenna, a Chicago businessman and former Illinois
Republican Party chairman, said he "would have opposed the
legislation presented to the Senate."
Bob Schillerstrom, DuPage County Board chairman, opposes the idea
because of what he cites as a lack of research.
"Relatively few studies have been completed on the health
benefits relating to the effects of inhaling marijuana as an
alternative to currently available treatment," Schillerstrom said.
[Associated Press;
JOHN O'CONNOR]
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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