A group advocating for the legalization of medical marijuana will hold a prayer vigil today at the state Capitol in honor of a statewide day of “compassion” for those who could potentially benefit from the purported therapeutic uses of the drug.
Wisconsin-based non-profit Is My Medicine Legal Yet? and the Wisconsin chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws are holding the event in hopes of gaining more support for a bill currently working its way through the state Legislature that would legalize medical marijuana for people with specific debilitating illnesses.
The prayer vigil will take place between noon and 1 p.m. Speakers will include local and state clergy, medical cannabis patients and advocates for medical marijuana, among others. Following the prayer vigil, tables and exhibits will be present from 1 to 3 p.m. to provide education and promote awareness on the bill.
“This isn’t about getting high; it’s all about relief for patients who suffer with illnesses like multiple sclerosis, anxiety [and] post traumatic stress disorder. Evidence in California even shows that medical marijuana is useful in children with autism,” said Gary Storck, spokesperson for IMMLY and President of Wisconsin NORML.
Between 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. IMMLY and Wisconsin NORML will also conduct a demonstration at the office of the Wisconsin Medical Society, which has lobbied against medical marijuana in the past.
According to Storck, the demonstration is to encourage the Wisconsin Medical Society to use medical marijuana on patients with disorders in which it could potentially have a very positive affect on their lives.
However, some officials disagree not only with the legislation, but also with the path the movement for legalization is taking in the state.
“It’s just not right to have legislation for the admittance of a drug in the medical community,” said Mark Grapentine, Wisconsin Medical Society senior vice president of government relations. “It should be the Food and Drug Administration who have the say whether a drug is legal or not based on expert testing.”
Grapentine also mentioned ongoing studies with the American Medical Association’s help that could aid in reclassifying marijuana as potentially legitimate for medical use, allowing possibilities for more research on the medical proponents of marijuana.
“We aren’t here to discount people’s conditions and the pain they might be going through; it’s just that science needs to be the bottom line here and science doesn’t get swayed by public opinion,” Grapentine said.
Having managed pain in the past with marijuana, Storck mentioned the benefits that medical marijuana could pose.
“A person with cancer going through chemo only would need a puff or two in order to be able to eat comfortably. It’s not about getting high — it’s about life with dignity,” Storck said.
Storck added smoking is not the only way to absorb cannabis, as smoking can lead to lung problems like bronchitis. Eating the drug or absorbing it through a patch are alternatives.
“We don’t want people to think that this will just happen. It has taken us 18 years to get to this point, and we really need everyone’s support to make this bill a reality,” Storck said.
