Marijuana and Cannabis News

Medical Marijuana Bill Goes Before Virginia House Committee

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ in Legislation, Medical

Tuesday, January 24, 2012 at 9:20 am

Delegate David Englin hopes to revitalize a 30-year-old Virginia law which allows marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes

A medical marijuana bill is scheduled to go before a Virginia House committee on Tuesday.

Northern Virginia Delegate David Englin hopes to revitalize a 30-year-old Virginia law which allows marijuana to be legally used for medicinal purposes, reports Jerrita Patterson at CBS 6.

The bill, if passed, would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for the treatment of medical conditions such as cancer and glaucoma. (Aye, that's the hang. Doctor's can't "prescribe" a drug considered Schedule I by the feds; see below.)

Delegate Englin's bill would prompt Governor Bob McDonnell to ask the federal government to change its stance on marijuana, making it legal to prescribe everywhere.

CBS 6

If the governor agrees to ask the Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify cannabis, he will join the governors of Rhode Island, Washington, and Colorado, who petitioned the federal agency over the past few months.

Delegate Englin said he doesn't think there's any chance that this bill will pass, but he said it's important to start a dialogue.

"Doctors, not politicians, should decide what's best for their patients," Englin said.

Now, for a little bit of background on Virginia's existing medical marijuana law, which seems to have created a lot of confusion. (Make no mistake about it, homie; Virginia is not a "medical marijuana state," and patients have no legal protection there.)

Since Jerrita Patterson incorrectly says in her video report that the reason patients aren't legally allowed to possess marijuana in Virginia is because it's federally illegal, that needs correcting here.

In 1979, the General Assembly passed § 18.2-251.1, which technically legalized medical marijuana -- but since the law, unlike that of California 17 years later, uses language which requires doctors to "prescribe" cannabis rather than "recommend" it, rendering the law unworkable. (Physicians could lose their licenses for "prescribing" a Schedule I substance like marijuana, but are allowed to "recommend" it instead.)

The reason Virginia patients can't have medical marijuana -- despite the passage of a medical marijuana law in 1979 -- is because legislators didn't know any better at the time than to write the bill so that it required a "prescription" from physicians rather than a "recommendation." The other problem is that it would require patients to get their cannabis at pharmacies, which, of course, aren't allowed to handled Schedule I substances.

It would be 17 more years before California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, with an initiative that specifies physicians "recommend" medical marijuana rather than prescribing it.

Many otherwise informed folks seem unaware of the important legal distinction between physicians "prescribing" and "recommending" marijuana; for instance see this online discussion at the site City-Data.com.

To view CBS 6's (partially misleading) TV news report, click here.

Tags: englin, medical, virginia

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11 comments

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Ison

1 Like

i believe if if the goverments children and their children to come had a medical condition such as multiple sclerosis,cancer,or degenerative diseases such as these, they would understand that marijuana does not affect them the same as one with no medical problem. it would be a great step for virginia to pass this law and wake up and see their citizens are being flodded with addictive pain medication that does not really help versus marijuana that is non addictive and would do nothing more than stimulate the portion of the brain that reacts to chronic pain. i have tumefactive multiple sclerosis and to this day can-not find a drug takes my chronic pain away. WAKE UP VIRGINIA and see that people need help here in america. if a doctor feels that it is necessary for his/her patient to use MEDICAL marijuana then it should be deemed necessary and accepted by the goverment. in america we sell alcohol at almost every store which causes liver failure,comas,brain herniation,and death.but marijuana has not caused these effects on anyone.now for doctor prescribing laws that could be easily changed to help the states medically sick patient are not being focused on hard enough really, if the goverment can change and make new laws everyday to benifeit themselves for stingy and greddy self finacial reasons, could easily be done to help the pain throbbing and muscle aching medically sickened patient who would need medical marijuana to help necessary body movement and self body motor related problems.

Nancy

1 Like

My son has Epilepsy and has had to take many medicines with side effects. If the state would make it legal for medical use we would try it. Nothing is working and every time we try something new the seizures get worse or side effects. I have a lot of faith in god and I believe he put things here on earth for us to use . The risk with Cannabis can't be any worse then all of the drugs we have tried and that he is still on. Surgery won't stop my son seizures . Places like Canada have been using Cannabis for Epilepsy and yes even young children and it seems to be helping them . We need to get this in every state. So many people die each year from Epilepsy . Are children have a hard time in School can't drive a car and some parents end up putting there children in homes as they get older because they can't care for them any long. Cannabis for Medical use is not about getting high it is about helping a medical problem when all else has failed .

C Roberson60

1 Like

genisis 1;12 and i have given you all seed bearing plants and herbs to use and they are good.read the bible.it says to consume cannibis so the religous government needs to read the book they hold soooooo dear to there hearts and quit shitting on my wheaties

Matt

1 Like

Marijuana is not a drug that should be outlawed.It does not lead to use of "harder drugs".Its all just a mind set i've smoked for quite a few years and never even thought about doing any other drugs. Its not harmful in anyway. It's alot safer than cigarettes and alcohol. It would decrease crime rate. I recommend people to watch a movie called Super High Me. Medicinal Marijuana would help the economy. Its the #1 cash crop in the US. Should be legalized, please tell me if u think im wrong because i don't see where it would hurt anyone. If u don't like it don't smoke it simple as that.

Kenneth H

Medical marijuana should be outlawed. It is harmful to our youth and leads to harder drugs. All the states are thinking about is how much money they can make from selling it. Our nation is becoming a disgrace.

Timmy S.

1 Like

Are much more hazardous to your health than Marijuana in any form, which just grows out of the ground.Completely unlike your chemically manufactured Tobacco and unnatural Alcohol. But the reason that Tobacco won't be illegalized, regardless of how much substantial evidence that is VERY hazardous to your health is because it was the foundation of the economy back when the settlers from England came and founded the 13 colonies. And Alcohol was banned during times of Prohibition (1919-1933 in the United States). Which was ended with the ratification of the 18th amendment, which allowed manufacturing and sale of Alcohol. I've also smoked Marijuana for 11 years, didn't lead me to any harder drugs, just the refridgerator. People like you need to take that self-righteous catharsis and put it into something constructive. Instead of holding Marijuana responsible for leading people to harder drugs, why not look at the people looking for a way to catch a bigger buzz? Some people didn't even start off using drugs simply with marijuana.Our nation isn't becoming a disgrace, uneducated people are the true disgrace. Which was a big problem in this country long before my time anyway. Lastly, you have a problem with the states thinking about how much money they can make in the worst economic time since the Great Depression?? Say it aint so Kenneth, say it aint so... Just saying though, the government wouldn't cry about the economy if they actually applied and tried to fix it. People are going to smoke Marijuana whether it's legal or not. Just as people are going to do anything for whatever reason. Apparently they know nothing of the saying "If you can't beat them, join them." The government will NEVER not now nor will they ever win the so-called "war on drugs". So stop dumping my and everyone elses tax-payer money down the drain. Might as well be taking the money out of our hands and setting it on fire.Not to mention the drug cartels and organized crime in general that sells marijuana as a form of profit would also take a hefty dent because they wouldn't be able to keep up with mass-manufacturing and most likely smaller prices. Not to mention that you'd be able to walk into a convenience store. or ABC store in your respective state to purchase, you wouldn't have to wait on a drug dealer.people are going to do it anyway. So Congress, wanna make some real money instead of wasting tax proceeds on wild dreams that are only suitable for andyland?

Timmy S.

Cut off the first half of my opening statement. Meant to be directed towards Cigarettes and Alcohol.

Timmy S.

Also correcting myself. the 18th amendment banned the manufacture and sale of Alcohol, but was then lifted.

joseph femiani

1 Like

i don't care about the gov getting into a plant created by GOD and designed to care for my sanity through cronic pain relief brought on by doctor supplied bad drugs that turned me into a living dead man.every minute of every day i lose a part of my flesh or appendges.i'm considered totally disabled permanetly .i have no balance from childhood when for a earache i was given drops that destroyed my inner ear membraines for balance..i was removed from my mother at birth and was given a hernia which killed mr with pain for tweleve years until i could get a child job to pay for repair.even with my disabvilities i won most athletic in high school.i went on in life raised as a vagabon into a millionare at age thirty just to lose it all due to another bad prescription drug give to me when i was showing signs of diabetes.thisdrug almost killed me but i caught it in time .it did kill others.nevertheless it turned me into a crying vegetable for three years until a cancer patient came to pray for me and gave me her pills.it was a miracle.i could stop crying and sit up in bed but i was so weak. these pills helped my legs but it didn't do anything else.after i was given lipitor i srtoked real bad the whole left half of my brain went numb and cold due to no blood flow. .i'm a sad case and shouldn't be around if this is how my life is to be.i take vicodin not enough i smoke the herb and it works i take atavin also plus both insulins and pills daily just to stay alive.i go nowhere and do nothing i'm a pain in the queerhole.my body has been being destroyed by medical science since the day i was born.i could have sued for millions but i was in no shape or of a mindset.

pfroehlich2004

If you live in Connecticut and want to end marijuana prohibition in our state, please take a minute to visit www.ctprimaryproject.com.

Please pass this on to anyone you know in Connecticut!

james sr

I do believe each state has it's own "doctor prescribing" rules which are different than the federal prescription rules allowing doctors to "prescribe" cannabis.

Here in Washington State we have a "state prescription" under "state law" called "valid documentation" on tamper-proof forms authorized by the board of pharmacy. The difference is not using the DEA schedule II-v license when writing the authorization under state law.

As a matter of fact steve, we do have caselaw in washington from the appeals court using that exact phrase.. doctors in wa. st. may "prescribe marijuana". It comes from rcw 69.51 the controlled substances therapeutic act and state v. seeley.

This whole doctors can't prescribe thing is a bit misleading..