Republican Tom Trail blazes way for medical marijuana legislation in Idaho
Rep. Tom Trail, a Republican from Moscow, Idaho, recognized the compassionate need for a distinction between medical and non-medical use of marijuana and acted on it. A northern Idaho lawmaker has introduced a bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state to protect seriously ill residents in his state from arrest and prosecution for using marijuana with their doctors’ recommendations.
Republican Rep. Tom Trail of Moscow earlier this week sponsored the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to establish a system for patients to legally obtain and use marijuana.
Trail says it’s time for lawmakers to help reduce the suffering of seriously ill citizens.
“This legislation provides another option for medically challenged citizens and provides protections for our citizens as a whole,” Trail said. “It gets down to a states rights issue: Should the use of medical marijuana be determined by the doctor-patient relationship, or by Congress and law enforcement?”
Trail said doctors have told him marijuana is less toxic, addictive or expensive than morphine and Oxycontin.
“The question is, are we going to continue to treat folks with severe medical conditions this brutally?” Trail said.
If passed, patients would need a certificate from a doctor to get medical marijuana. Patients or their caregivers would also have to register with the state before they could obtain marijuana.
Only treatment centers licensed by the state would be allowed to sell medical marijuana, and patients would be limited to 2 ounces in a 28-day period.
If passed, Idaho would become the 16th state, along with the District of Columbia, to distinguish between medical and non-medical marijuana use. Idaho is surrounded by medical marijuana states, sharing borders with Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Montana. Additionally, Idaho borders Canada, a medical marijuana country.
Idaho NORML, 924 W Hays St #2 Boise, ID 83702 email: normlidaho@gmail.com, website: idahonorml.webs.com, Facebook and MySpace pages.
Idaho NORML is meeting on the 1st SAT of every month at Idaho Pizza, 1677 Broadway Ave in Boise.
Additional news reports and links for Idaho:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-21/idaho-lawmaker-introduces-medical-marijuana-bill.html
This blog has a poll for Idaho: http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/hbo/2011/jan/21/idaho-medical-marijuana-bill-surfaces/
The current status of marijuana laws in Idaho
Under current Idaho law, an individual charged with possession of up to an ounce of marijuana faces a year in jail and/or up to a $1,000 fine. To learn more about Idaho’s marijuana laws, arrests and use, please see Dr. Jon Gettman, Ph.D.’s comprehensive report.
