Today’s decision to expand marijuana use in Minnesota is another example of the Dayton Administration rewriting laws passed by the legislature. Governor Dayton’s decision to overrule his own medical panel’s recommendation is an indictment of this bill and process.
The legislature voted to allow the narrowest legalization of marijuana in the country. Those supporting this bill could have included “intractable” pain as a qualifying condition, but chose not to. Eight medical professionals impaneled to make further recommendations could have chosen to add “intractable” pain to its list of qualifying conditions but chose not to. The Dayton administration has decided to reject the recommendation of the expert medical advisory panel and legalize marijuana use for backaches and migraines.
This overruling of medical recommendation shows this was never about medicine, it was, like similar legislation passed in Colorado, simply an onramp to full legalization. Colorado and other states who have gone down this road, are now paying the price.
Today I renew my call to bring any more legalization of marijuana back to the legislature where it belongs.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/topics/cannabis/intractable/intractablepainfs.pdf