NORML.org - Working to Reform Marijuana Laws

Illinois

1. US IL: Prescription Pot Vote Passes
   Chicago Sun-Times, 18 May 2013 - No Hint by Quinn After 35-21 Vote SPRINGFIELD - The idea of Illinoisans turning to pot to treat severe illnesses moved closer to reality Friday after the Illinois Senate approved the medicinal use of marijuana over GOP objections it would encourage more serious drug use.
2. US IL: PUB LTE: Fear-mongering Letter
   Chicago Sun-Times, 16 May 2013 - Peter Bensinger's latest letter in the Sun Times echoes the usual fear mongering that opponents to medical cannabis have been saying for years: Our kids, streets and society will suffer if we allow sick people to have legal access to a plant. He and those who share his views never talk about how other countries such as Canada and Israel have medical cannabis and kids, streets and the social fabric in those countries don't seem negatively impacted by it. They also never mention that the FDA approves pills that are often recalled and according to the Centers for Disease Control are the leading cause of overdose deaths in America. Nobody is dying from overdoses from cannabis, yet FDA-approved drugs are killing people everyday, and those drugs are found in medicine cabinets that kids have easy access to. Dan Linn, East Village - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom
3. US IL: OPED: Marijuana Bill Needs To Include Children
   Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2013 - My 9-year-old daughter has Aicardi syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes extremely hard-to-control seizures, debilitation, disability and early mortality. She began having seizures at three months of age, and since that time has had multiple seizures every day, with rare exception - probably to the tune of nearly 200,000 seizures in her lifetime. For most families, even one such day would be an emergency. For ours, it is the norm.
4. US IL: OPED: Pass Medical Marijuana Bill
   Chicago Sun-Times, 15 May 2013 - The Sun-Times editorial of May 13 calling for the Illinois Senate to legalize medical marijuana gets it just right. HB 1 will help people suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease, HIV, spinal disease, ALS and other terrible ailments. These people should not be dismissed as "anecdotes." The Sun-Times Editorial Board is also right to hope that, once legislators see this law functioning well and providing relief, it can be amended to make the pilot program permanent and open to individuals in debilitating pain whose doctors recommend it.
5. US IL: LTE: Bad Medical Marijuana Bill
   Chicago Sun-Times, 14 May 2013 - Monday's Sun-Times editorial on marijuana has unfortunately presented mostly fiction and not facts. The bill pending in the Illinois Senate is not the most restricted medical marijuana legislation; it is the only law proposed that allows a medical marijuana cardholder to drive immediately after smoking marijuana while removing the tests that would be able to detect marijuana use - blood and alcohol tests, which is current law. The Illinois Chiefs of Police and Illinois Sheriff 's Association have been so alarmed by these provisions that they have written the governor, secretary of state and other public safety officials because the proposed legislation imposes a standard of impairment test that may be accurate for alcohol but does not work for marijuana, according to safety specialists at the National Highway Transportation Safety Board.
6. US IL: Editorial: Fact And Fiction On Medical Marijuana
   Chicago Sun-Times, 13 May 2013 - For seriously ill folks looking for relief, a big moment has arrived. Here's hoping the Illinois Senate doesn't blow it. A bill legalizing medical marijuana likely will come up for a vote this week. The bill already has passed the House. In years past, less restrictive versions of the very same bill have prevailed in the Senate. Yet, we worry. We fear that fear will overcome reason. We worry that speculation about opening the door to drug legalization will trump the facts. We worry that compassion for people in pain will get lost in the political shuffle.
7. US IL: PUB LTE: Was Drug Bust Worth The Effort, Resources?
   Daily Chronicle, 10 May 2013 - I found your editorial about the busted crack cocaine drug ring to be both intriguing and naive. It was intriguing because it touched on how the economics of the illegal drug trade "virtually guarantees" that the bust is not going to have any lasting effect on reducing the availability of the drug in the community. Why applaud an effort that doesn't have the lasting impact that it is supposed to have?
8. US IL: Oppose Legalization Of Medical Pot
   Daily Herald, 10 May 2013 - On April 17, the Illinois House of Representatives passed HB 001, often referred to as "medical marijuana" legislation, by a vote of 61-57 in favor. The legislation has passed a Senate committee and is next expected to be called for a vote in the Senate sometime during the next few weeks. As a law enforcement official for 37 years and the chief of police in Deerfield for 12 years, I find it imperative to voice my concerns concerning this pending legislation with members of the community. As proposed, the legislation includes the following provisions: allows 18-year-olds (high school seniors) to get medical marijuana cards without a parent's permission, allows qualifying medical marijuana patients to get 2.5 ounces of marijuana every 14-day period or 13 "joints" per day (with this much marijuana, diversion of the extra will become problematic), allows a qualified medical marijuana patient to drive under the influence of marijuana unless found to be "impaired" (enforcement of "impaired" becomes very problematic), and does not allow local government to prohibit the cultivation, dispensing and use of medical cannabis as authorized (a dispensing site could come to your community).
9. US IL: Legislators Against Legalizing Medical Marijuana
   Effingham Daily News, 10 May 2013 - While local legislators predict the Illinois Senate has the votes needed to pass a proposed medical marijuana bill, those same legislators are taking a dim view of the proposal that would legalize a person with specific medical conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis or HIV/AIDS, the ability to possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of it during a 14-day period. The House has already approved such a measure and if the Senate and Quinn sign off on the bill, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program would be created for a four-year period, after which time it would be re-evaluated.