|
US SD: Medical Marijuana Measure Cast Aside
URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n1091/a05.html
Newshawk: Doug McVay http://www.CommonSenseDrugPolicy.org/
Votes: 0
Pubdate: Fri, 30 Jul 2004
Source: Aberdeen American News (SD)
Copyright: 2004 Aberdeen American News
Contact: americannews@aberdeennews.com
Website: http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/americannews
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1484
Author: Joe Kafka, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEASURE CAST ASIDE
PIERRE, S.D. - A proposal that would have allowed people who smoke pot for
medical reasons to at least use a necessity defense in court was snuffed out
Friday by officials who are studying all state criminal laws.
Switching to the subject of methamphetamines, the panel embraced a proposal
that would ease penalties for light use of the drug but increase them for
larger quantities.
The medicinal marijuana measure was offered by Republican Rep. Tom Hennies,
former Rapid City police chief.
Hennies said he does not favor decriminalization of marijuana, but he said
there is strong evidence that marijuana can ease chronic nausea and pain
that is not helped by prescription drugs. Sometimes, he said, smoking
marijuana is the only relief for critically ill people who are dying.
"We do a disservice to people who are in the throes of death to say they can
take morphine and other opiates but you can't use marijuana," Hennies said.
"Why would you even arrest a guy, who for his own medical purposes, smokes
marijuana?"
Hennies' proposal, which failed 4-1, would not have prevented police from
arresting people who use marijuana. But it would have allowed people to
argue that they smoke pot for legitimate medical reasons, and doctors could
be called to testify in their defense.
Hennies said 10 states have provisions for medicinal marijuana use.
Circuit Judge Tim Dallas Tucker of Madison said such a law would be a burden
on judges and juries to decide on a case-by-case basis if people are smoking
pot for actual medical reasons. If a medical defense is allowed in
marijuana cases, it is tantamount to legalizing marijuana, he said.
"If you can be prosecuted and you have a defense, then it's legal," Tucker
said.
The judge of 17 years said marijuana use should only be legalized if done as
a broad policy decision by the state Legislature. South Dakota lawmakers
have soundly rejected that idea in past years.
Methamphetamine charges are piling up all over the state, said Dave Nelson,
Minnehaha County state's attorney. State law should be revised to take into
account the various levels of meth possession, he said.
At Nelson's suggestion, a subcommittee of the state Criminal Code Revision
Commission decided Friday that possession penalties be tied to specific
amounts of the drug. Existing law makes possession of any quantity of meth
a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, Nelson said.
"I don't think one size fits all," he said.
Nelson will devise a matrix of meth penalties, dependent upon amounts of the
drug that people possess, for consideration by the subcommittee at its next
meeting in August. Any proposal adopted by the full commission will be
submitted to next year's Legislature.
Penalties for those who manufacture and sell meth should continue to be
stiff, Nelson said. Those who are caught with huge amounts of meth should
face prison terms ranging from 25 years to life, Nelson said.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake
************************
Mark
"Marijuana clearly has medicinal value.
Thousands of seriously ill Americans have
been able to determine that for themselves,
albeit illegally. Like my own family, these
individuals did not wish to break the law but
they had no choice."
--Lyn Nofziger, former deputy chairman of
the Republican National Committee
From the book, Marijuana Rx,
by Robert C. Randall, the founder of
the medical marijuana movement.
Marijuana Rx is published by
Thunder's Mouth Press.)
|
| |
| |
|
