Panel limits medical marijuana plan

The Bemidji Pioneer

By Scott Wente

ST. PAUL — A key Minnesota House committee changed, and then passed, a plan making it legal for Minnesotans suffering from severe illnesses to use marijuana for pain relief.

The bill permits people with certain chronic illnesses to obtain, possess and smoke marijuana. Advocates say marijuana can relieve pain that traditional medications cannot.

The Public Safety Policy and Oversight Committee approved the bill Tuesday on a 9-6 margin after placing a two-year limit on the legislation and reducing the number of marijuana plants a patient can possess. Committee members also made it more difficult for patients to grow their own marijuana.

Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty and law enforcement groups continue to oppose the bill by Rep. Tom Rukavina, DFL-Virginia.

Freshman Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Red Wing, offered the amendment that imposes a two-year “sunset” on the legislation and raises the minimum age, from 18 to 21, for registered marijuana providers.

“This is my way of trying to say if all these bad things are going to happen, we have a way out,” Kelly said. He voted to send the bill out of committee, but said he reserves the right to change his vote on the floor.

Sen. Steve Murphy, the bill’s chief Senate sponsor, said he was open to the changes.

“That sounds reasonable,” Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, said. “I don’t like sunsets, but we can talk about it.”

Date: 03/25/09