ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Compassionate Care Act (HF 1818) was scheduled for a hearing in the House Government Operations Committee at 10:00 a.m., March 11, 2014.
After careful consideration, House author Rep. Carly Melin (DFL – Hibbing) asked to postpone today’s hearing for the bill.
Over the weekend, Rep. Melin and advocates for HF 1818 offered a compromise bill to law enforcement that would:
-Remove the option for patients to smoke medical marijuana.
-Impose a penalty for the smoking of medical marijuana.
-Permit the use of a vaporizer to administer medical marijuana to a patient.
-Eliminate all ability for home or personal cultivation of medical marijuana.
-Replace "severe and debilitating pain" with "intractable pain" to further limit the number of patients who would qualify for medical marijuana.
-Require the Commissioner of Health to consult with law enforcement to set further public safety standards in implementation of the program.
After all these concessions, law enforcement remains strongly opposed the compromise proposal.
Rep. Melin issued the following statement after asking to postpone today’s hearing for the bill:
“Governor Dayton has been consistent that his support of a medical marijuana bill is contingent on support from law enforcement. I have attempted to compromise with law enforcement over the past few months and offered several major concessions, but they have been unwilling to accept a proposal that would allow Minnesota to join 20 other states in permitting patients safe, regulated, and legal access to medical marijuana. I will continue to stand with Minnesotans who support the Compassionate Care Act and remain hopeful we can make progress, but right now we are at a stalemate with law enforcement and I don’t see a path forward until the Governor changes his position.”
Over 40 House lawmakers, both DFLers and Republicans, are cosponsors of HF1818. It passed the House Health and Human Services Policy Committee last week with bipartisan support. The committee hearing included compelling and emotional testimony from a mother who watched her daughter die a painful death from cancer, several mothers whose children are suffering seizure disorders, a gentleman who uses marijuana to control his muscular dystrophy, a city councilor with glaucoma, and several other Minnesotans who would be helped by the bill.