Issue Position: Medical Cannabis

Issue Position

Hoosiers are beyond ready to have an adult conversation with their elected representatives to reassess the impact that the current marijuana laws have had on our society. I believe that it is time to work with law enforcement agencies, healthcare groups, and other stakeholders to legalize medical marijuana and decriminalize the possession of small amount of marijuana.

According to an article in TIME magazine, 85% of Americans favor legalization of medical marijuana and according to a recent Gallup Poll, 64% of adults believe recreational marijuana should be legal. Although this issue has been around for quite some time, we are finally starting to see this issue gain momentum. 29 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico allow certain patients to use medical marijuana. That's almost 2 million individuals who use medical cannabis to treat their pain. I personally know people who have benefited from the recent availability of CBD oil in Indiana. The science clearly implies that medical marijuana could have the potential to have a positive impact on issues like seizure prevention, Parkinson's disease, migraine headaches, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, autism spectrum disorder and diabetes treatment. Medicine derived from marijuana has the potential to improve the lives of thousands of Hoosier veterans too, just ask the American Legion for the State of Indiana.

Here in Indiana, the Hoosier state is grappling with the Opioid Crisis. I strongly believe that medical cannabis can play an integral role in fighting this crisis. The Journal of American Medical Association has shown that opioid overdoses are as much as 25% less common in states where medical cannabis is legal and the Journal of Health Affairs found that states who legalized medical cannabis saw a significant drop in prescriptions for painkillers and other drugs where marijuana may be an alternative. This is a serious issue that deserves serious attention as opioid abuse racks up more than $72 billion in medical costs alone each year in the US. In addition to the potential health care uses, the harsh penalties inflicted for possession of small amounts of marijuana has led to the unnecessary incarceration of thousands of Hoosiers and a huge waste of resources related to our court system.

Furthermore, the potential benefits, as seen in the example of Colorado, are too great to ignore. The only fiscally and socially responsible path forward requires significant reform to the current laws that regulate marijuana. Join me in bringing some sanity back to the Indiana General Assembly on this very important issue and others.

Source