Multiple Iowa Legislators Promise Bipartisan Work In 2020 To Send Official Letter to Federal Government to Respect State Medical Marijuana Laws In 2020 And Remove Schedule I
Me in 2011, serving a lawsuit on the State of Iowa concerning federalism, Schedule I and more for Carl Olsen. A genuine honor. NORML has a version of the above legal solution to federal prohibition you can read at this link. This lawsuit and it’s arguments will finally begin to be implemented during the 2020 legislative session according to multiple Senators statements on March 27, 2019. Photo Credit: Carl Olsen, Iowans for Medical Marijuana
In what appears to be a major breakthrough in understanding marijuana policy, a proposal to draft and vote on an important resolution in 2020 was vocalized by Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Senate during final discussion on the latest expansion to the five year old medical cannabidiol program in the state of Iowa. Here’s the video and key commentary from the discussion below.
As WeedPress has predicted for years, marijuana advocate Carl Olsen’s decade long and under-credited work has lead to Iowa being the first state to promise official correspondence to the federal government on behalf of sick and suffering state approved medical marijuana patients.
Iowans for Medical Marijuana’s Carl Olsen, under-credited for his hard work on federal marijuana laws, takes a break from his job at Drake University to review 30,000 pages of evidence presented to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy concerning Schedule I classification of marijuana in 2009.
Senator Greene and Senator Taylor both spoke first, and agreed that the often debated 3% cap on THC was quote “arbitrary” due to input received from medical professionals.
Republican Senator Miller-Meeks voted yes but with reservations due to conerns about federal law. This lead to important discussions from both Democrat and Republican senators. Since the federal government has “refused to act,” Senator Miller-Meeks firmly stated:
Dr. Miller-Meeks, ophthalmologist, is a Republican Senator from Southeast Iowa with strong concerns, and solutions, about federal marijuana laws.
“So while I’m going to support this bill I also urge, encourage, mandate, plea, whatever the proper language is, that we as a body send a letter to the federal government, to the DEA, to our representatives, to our senators, and to President Trump, that we want the federal government to act and change the DEA classification so that we can properly investigate, research, and prescribe this medication. With that I would say let’s urge our Governor, I would like this body to get together, draft a letter, and then next year come back with a resolution so that we can properly administer this medication. Thank you.”
— Senator Miller-Meeks March 27 2019
Senator Taylor rose to respond:
“I agree with Senator Miller-Meeks that there’s a lot more we can do. We need to encourage this on a federal level. But for today I’m just so happy to see this come so far. So thank you Madam President.”
— Senator Taylor
Next up was Senator Tom Greene, a pharmacist in Burlington for over 40 years, got emotional and had to apologize:
Senator Tom Greene, pharmacist for over 40 years, pictured, right, agreed that the Senate should work on reclassification of marijuana at the federal level. Photo Credit: Iowa Pharmacy Association
“This has been a long journey. Senator Bolckom, Senator Zaun, the work you’ve done on this for the citizens of Iowa (11 second pause)…
“I apologize. I know many patients who need this medication. This is a small step, but we need to keep the ball rolling. As Dr. Miller-Meeks said, the reclassification of this, will do, will make leaps and bounds, helps, and just really, provide that care, for these Iowans.
“Thank you.”
— Senator Greene
After Senator Greene’s unexpected emotion Senator Zaun closed remarks with a passionate promise to come back and do what no other state in the Union has done so far and take on federal law on behalf of the state of Iowa, a huge relief for those of us who work on the technicalities of marijuana policy who have worked to educate legislators as to the need for the states to send an official letter to the federal government to remove Schedule I. Important excerpts from his speech include:
“I agree with Doctor, or Senator Miller-Meeks, that people in DC once again are letting letting everybody down in regards to the classification. I’d fully support a letter — and I think that’s a great idea — we should send a message to Washington D.C. And it’ll be something that I promise to work hard on next year. We always talk about the opioid dilemma — crisis — that we have out there. I truly believe that this medicine will be an alternative to opioids. And the opioid abusing that’s going on out there.”
“To put things in layman’s terms. Thank God for our pharmacist, Senator Greene.”
“And just a reminder the House passed this 96 to 3. I get a little emotional because we’ve been talking about this for so many years, and we really have a great opportunity to help Iowans here. I give you my word this is not a step in the direction of recreational use of marijuana. This is a step to help people that have a lot of pain.”
— Senator Zaun
Exhaustively diligent and straight forward bipartisan medical marijuana supporter, Senator Zaun, promised to work in 2020 on Senator Miller-Meeks proposal to send a letter to President Trump and the DEA concerning scheduling misclassification of marijuana. The number one thrust of ten years of WeedPress advocacy shall finally be addressed by Iowa in 2020. Special thanks to Carl Olsen and Iowans for Medical Marijuana for their work on federal law and education of our statewide representatives. Photo credit: Radio Iowa
The Senate than voted to pass the bill with a few old timers who aren’t doctors voting against. The votes for totaled 40, the votes against, 7. Senator Julian Garrett was one of the no votes, which was consistent with his past voting, so not everyone has gotten educated or changed their minds on allowing sick people to have arbitrarily limited access to a plant that has never killed anyone and that has flourished in spite of ill-advised drug policies that encourage, not deter, illicit drug use. The bill still made it through, but not unanimously like other Senators expressly hoped for.
Below is the text of the final version of the 2019 bill for medical marijuana expansion.
House File 732 – Reprinted HOUSE FILE 732 BY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 244)
(As Amended and Passed by the House March 26, 2019 )
A BILL FOR An Act relating to the medical cannabidiol Act.
1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 2 HF 732 (3) 88 ss/rh/md
H.F. 732 Section 1. Section 124E.2, subsection 2, paragraph i, Code 1 2019, is amended to read as follows:
2 i. Untreatable Severe or chronic pain.
3 Sec.2. Section 124E.2, subsections 5 and 6, Code 2019, are
4 amended to read as follows:
5. “Health care practitioner” means an individual licensed
6 under chapter 148 to practice medicine and surgery or
7 osteopathic medicine and surgery , a physician assistant
8 licensed under chapter 148C, or an advanced registered nurse
9 practitioner licensed under chapter 152 or 152E, who is a
10 patient’s primary care provider. “Health care practitioner”
11 shall not include a physician assistant licensed under chapter
12 148C or an advanced registered nurse practitioner licensed
13 pursuant to chapter 152 or 152E .
14 6. “Medical cannabidiol” means any pharmaceutical
15 grade cannabinoid found in the plant Cannabis sativa L. or
16 Cannabis indica or any other preparation thereof that has
17 a tetrahydrocannabinol level of no more than three percent
18 and that is delivered in a form recommended by the medical
19 cannabidiol board, approved by the board of medicine, and
20 adopted by the department pursuant to rule.
21 Sec. 3. Section 124E.2, subsection 8, Code 2019, is amended
22 by striking the subsection.
23 Sec. 4. Section 124E.4, subsection 1, paragraph f, Code
24 2019, is amended by striking the paragraph.
25 Sec. 5. Section 124E.9, Code 2019, is amended by adding the
26 following new subsections:
27 NEW SUBSECTION . 13. A medical cannabidiol dispensary
28 may employ a pharmacist or pharmacy technician licensed or
29 registered pursuant to chapter 155A.
30 NEW SUBSECTION . 14. a. Except as otherwise provided in
31 paragraph “b” , a medical cannabidiol dispensary shall not
32 dispense more than a combined total of twenty-five grams of 33 tetrahydrocannabinol to a patient and the patient’s primary 34 caregiver in a ninety-day period.
35 -1- HF 732 (3) 88 ss/rh/md 1/ 2
H.F. 732 b. The board of medicine shall adopt rules allowing the
1 health care practitioner who originally certified a patient
2 to receive a medical cannabidiol registration card to apply
3 for, and the medical cannabidiol board to expeditiously and
4 efficiently grant, a waiver to permit the patient and the
5 patient’s primary caregiver to receive more than a combined
6 total of twenty-five grams of tetrahydrocannabinol in a
7 ninety-day period if the health care practitioner submits
8 documentation certifying all of the following:
9 (1) The health care practitioner performed a physical
10 examination of the patient and has determined that twenty-five
11 grams of tetrahydrocannabinol per ninety-day period is not an
12 adequate amount to alleviate the patient’s debilitating medical
13 condition.
14 (2) The patient’s debilitating medical condition is a
15 terminal illness with a life expectancy of less than one year.
16 Sec. 6. Section 124E.11, subsection 1, paragraph b,
17 subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (c), Code 2019, is
18 amended to read as follows:
19 (c) To authorized employees of a medical cannabidiol
20 dispensary, but only for the purpose purposes of verifying that
21 a person is lawfully in possession of a medical cannabidiol
22 registration card issued pursuant to this chapter and that a
23 person has not purchased tetrahydrocannabinol in excess of the
24 amount authorized by this chapter .
25 Sec. 7. Section 124E.11, subsection 2, Code 2019, is amended
26 by adding the following new paragraph:
27 NEW PARAGRAPH . j. Collect and evaluate data on patient
2 responses to “Multiple Iowa Legislators Promise Bipartisan Work In 2020 To Send Official Letter to Federal Government to Respect State Medical Marijuana Laws In 2020 And Remove Schedule I”
David trotter
Must lift the 3% THC cap or we will live miserably in truth…thank you
Iowans for Medical Marijuana’s Carl Olsen, under-credited for his hard work on federal marijuana laws, takes a break from his job at Drake University to review 30,000 pages of evidence presented to the Iowa Board of Pharmacy concerning Schedule I classification of marijuana in 2009.
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 
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