Bleeding Heartland Had An Interesting Insight On Representative Jeff Shipley’s Body Language From House File 732 Discussion

Read “Iowa House Approves Small Step On Medical Cannabis” in yesterday’s Bleeding Heartland:

“EVERYONE TOLD ME NOT TO DO IT”

House File 732 might not have come to a vote at all.

Republican State Representative Jeff Shipley had offered his own amendment, which would have added a dozen new qualifying medical conditions and redefined “medical cannabidiol” in Iowa code to cover “any species of the genus cannabis plant, or any mixture or preparation of them, including whole plant extracts and resins.”

In other words, patients approved for the state program could legally consume products using the whole cannabis plant, including smokeable marijuana.

Speaking in favor of his proposal (starting at 4:45:30), Shipley said,

I know this issue’s really controversial. I don’t quite understand the controversy, to be honest with you. To me, it’s just about empowering patients. Like any medicine, medicines can be abused. It happens all the time.

He noted that an estimated 250,000 people die of medical errors every year. Although marijuana abuse is a serious issue, “At the end of the day, I want patients to use whatever medicine they see fit.” Shipley said many people die of opioid overdoses, but he wasn’t aware of statistics pointing to any marijuana overdoses. We aren’t tapping into the full range of potential benefits from cannabis.

Instead of urging colleagues to support his amendment, Shipley wrapped up by asking for unanimous consent to withdraw it.

Speaking by phone on the evening of March 26, Shipley confirmed legislators from both parties and supportive lobbyists had warned him against pushing for a vote. The chief clerk might have declared his amendment not germane, or in the worst-case scenario, leaders might have pulled House File 732 from the calendar. House Speaker Linda Upmeyer had spoken briefly with Shipley earlier in the day, and while the speaker was “very cordial,” she “made it clear” his amendment “wasn’t going to fly on her watch.”

The latest Iowa poll by Selzer & Co for the Des Moines Register and Mediacom found that 78 percent of respondents favor expanding access to the state program “by covering more diseases and conditions and adding more dispensaries around the state beyond the current five locations.” I’d been curious to see how many lawmakers were on Shipley’s wavelength.

So was he, Shipley said. “It’s not like my amendment was all that radical,” because patients would have been using cannabis under a physician’s supervision. So he was “frustrated” not to call a vote. On the other hand, he was just elected for the first time in 2018 and is still finding his way in the legislature. “I was more than happy to yield to more experienced lawmakers, because I thought they were advising it in good faith.”

When he rose to speak, had Shipley made up his mind to withdraw the amendment? His body language suggested to me that he might have been on the fence until the last moment. “There was a little bit of hesitation,” Shipley admitted. “In my heart, I wanted to” ask for a vote. But “everyone told me not to do it,” and he didn’t want to imperil the bill.

Read the full article from yesterday’s Bleeding Heartland here.