| Senator Gene Fraise |
| Iowa state Senator Gene Fraise says introducing a medical marijuana bill will force a conversation and help lawmakers come to a consensus on the topic |
A new call for Iowa lawmakers to consider legalizing marijuana for medical uses is coming from an unlikely source. State Senator Gene Fraise, a 79-year-old Democrat from Fort Madison, has drafted a bill on the issue.
Fraise, who has been in the state Senate for 26 years, is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is a member of several corrections-related committees, reports the Associated Press.
Senator Fraise is a busy man; he’s also vice chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee and serves on a justice budgeting committee.
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy recommended in 2010 that state lawmakers reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II drug to allow its medicinal use, but the Legislature apparently hasn’t been able to summon up the cojones to act on the recommendation.
Fraise said he’s personally undecided on the issue. But he said introducing a medical marijuana bill will force a conversation and help lawmakers come to a consensus on the topic.
It’s unclear if or when the bill might be discussed.