Medical Marijuana Bill Gets Shot Down

An effort to allow medical use of marijuana fell short by a handful of votes in the Illinois House. Opponents argued it was less about health care and more about legalizing pot.

The tally was a setback for medical patients suffering from glaucoma, cancer and other diseases who say smoking marijuana helps ease pain and improve their quality of life. Former talk show host Montel Williams was among those who came to the capitol to lobby for the measure. Williams has multiple sclerosis and admitted he uses marijuana to deal with his symptoms.

"For me, it helps to lessen the neuropathic pain," Williams said. "It also helps me, no ifs, ands, or buts, with spasticity. I suffer from MS. I have leg tremors and have spasticity at night. This completely squashes that."

The House sponsor, Lou Lang (D-Skokie) said the medical contributions of the drug are a compelling argument to legalize it.

"How do you turn down people who are sick," Lang said. "People who are in pain, people who have not had the opportunity to have a quality of life without this health care product. And make no mistake my friends. This is not a bill about drugs. This is a bill about health care."

But critics say more testing should be done to determine if marijuana has benefits. Fifteen other states allow medical marijuana use.

Illinois' plan would have patients get a doctor's note that would then be submitted to the state department of public health. The agency would regulate who can buy from licensed dealers.

But law enforcement was opposed to the measure, and so were lawmakers like State Rep. Ron Stephens (R- Greenville), who is a licensed pharmacist.

"This is about possession of marijuana," Stephens said. "That's all it's about. It's not about medical treatment."

Stephens said more research is needed to determine any potential benefits marijuana might have. While the Illinois plan was defeated, the same proposal was kept alive through a legislative maneuver and could be called for another vote.