Three more members of Congress, including one Republican and the House’s only Independent, have recently signed on to a federal bill (H.R. 2618) that would permit physicians to prescribe marijuana as a therapeutic agent for seriously ill patients. With the addition of the recent signees, U.S. Reps. Bernard Sanders (I-VT), George Brown (D-Calif.), and Brian Bilbray (R-Calif.), the total number of co-sponsors now stands at sixteen.
“Slowly but surely, more and more members of Congress are coming forward to show their support for medical marijuana legislation,” stated NORML Deputy Director Allen St. Pierre. “This is a bill that deserves full bi-partisan support and prompt federal action.”
The inclusion of Bilbray brings the total number of Republican co-sponsors to three. Republican support of this legislation is critical if the bill is to move forward in a Republican controlled Congress.
Currently, H.R. 2618 is simultaneously pending before two subcommittees: the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime and the House Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health and Environment. This past March, NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup, Esq. testified before the Subcommittee on Crime and encouraged Chairman Bill McCullom (R-Fla.) — a former two-time co-sponsor of federal medical marijuana legislation himself — to hold additional hearings regarding medical marijuana.
H.R. 2618 was introduced in Congress last fall by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to amend federal law to allow seriously ill patients to have legal access to marijuana for medicinal purposes. If passed, the bill would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to individuals suffering from “glaucoma, AIDS wasting syndrome, muscle spasms from certain spastic disorders including multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, and quadriplegia, or the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy or radiology.” Presently, only eight patients are allowed to receive marijuana legally from the federal government.
The effectiveness of medicinal marijuana has been endorsed by a number of scientific and medical associations including the American Public Health Association, the Australian Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Nurses Society on Addiction.
For more information about H.R. 2618 or medical marijuana, please contact either Allen St. Pierre or Paul Armentano of NORML at (202) 483-5500.