General Assembly Report Card: Marijuana Matters

Marijuana was a topic of conversation in the General Assembly this session, although some were hoping for a different outcome, like legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.

What legislators did accomplish this session? Anyone arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana will likely see a reduced fine. Current law stipulates that a person in possession of marijuana can serve a maximum of one year in prison, but a new law will reduce the penalty for a person in possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana to a maximum of 90 days in prison, or a fine of $500.

Patch user Ross Dangel commented on a , It's a pity legalization is not being considered for any of the logical medical (science based) reasons like that it's safer and far less expensive to treat certain conditions than many pharmaceuticals or that it isn't addictive and doesn't cause people to commit crimes to support it as a "habit".

According to the Marijuana Policy Project, a nonprofit advocacy organization, legislators have failed to make marijuana legal in this state for medical purposes, but last year they were able to at least make some inroads.

Patients whose doctors have diagnosed them with a debilitating medical condition (including a condition that is “severe and resistant to conventional medicine”) are subject to arrest, but can assert the medical use of marijuana as an affirmative defense at trial, according to the Marijuana Policy Project website. In addition to having a debilitating condition, patients will need to show that the doctor who made the diagnosis was one with whom the patient has an ongoing, bona fide physician-patient relationship, and that marijuana is likely to provide him or her with therapeutic or palliative relief. Finally, the defense is not available to anyone in possession of more than one ounce of marijuana or who uses marijuana in a public place.

What do you think? Did legislators drop the ball this session by not passing a bill to legalize the medical use of marijuana? Tell us in the comments below.