Legal medical marijuana idea snuffed

DES MOINES - Hope for relief that could come from therapeutic and legal use of medicinal marijuana turned into a bummer Tuesday for ailing Iowans.

A three-member Senate subcommittee heard testimony from Iowans with a variety of maladies who pressed for the option of being able to use marijuana under supervision by a physician without fear of facing arrest and incarceration.

However, Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, conceded the 31-page bill modeled after laws in 13 states protecting medical marijuana patients needed more work and likely would have to wait for legislative consideration in 2010.

"This is déjà vu," noted Dr. Ed Hertko, 80, a West Des Moines doctor who said he made a similar appeal for legalized use of medicinal marijuana 30 years ago and got exactly the same result then.

"It's shown that marijuana can be a benefit," Hertko said. "They're rediscovering the wheel. I'll see you again in 30 years."

Tuesday's hearing was both a glimmer of hope and a bitter pill for Jeff Elton, a Des Moines man who said cannabis is the only substance that eases a paralyzed stomach condition that causes him nausea and vomiting.

"It's a glimmer of hope that something will change and that I won't actually have to move out of Iowa to get healthy," Elton said. At the same time, that change is too slow in coming.

Another Des Moines man, Steve Erickson, said there were valid points made about legitimate purposes associated with medical marijuana, but he also expressed concern about how the activity would be regulated so it didn't become an avenue for recreational use.

Sen. Merlin Bartz, R-Grafton, said he previously voted for tightly crafted legislation in the mid-1990s that provided a legal avenue for medicinal marijuana use. However, he said the latest version did not meet that criteria and needed considerable work to make it acceptable.

"There is a long way to go, I must say," conceded Bolkcom, in noting that Senate File 293 likely will not clear this week's deadline for policy bills to clear at least one legislative committee to remain eligible for consideration this year.

Contact the writer: (515) 243-7220 or rod.boshart@gazcomm.com