West Virginia
Legislature Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
Gov. Jim Justice is expected to sign
SB 386 into law, making West Virginia the 29th state to adopt an effective
medical marijuana law
CHARLESTON, W. Va. - April 7, 2017
(Investorideas.com Newswire) A medical marijuana bill received final approval
in the West Virginia Legislature on Thursday and is headed to the desk of Gov.
Jim Justice. He has publicly expressed support for legal access to medical
marijuana and is expected to sign the bill into law, making West Virginia the
29th state to adopt an effective medical marijuana law.
SB 386, introduced by Sen. Richard
Ojeda (D-Logan), received initial approval from the Senate last week (28-6).
The House substantially amended the bill before approving it on Tuesday
(76-24). The Senate passed the new version on concurrence Wednesday afternoon
(28-6), along with some minor amendments, and the House signed off on the final
version Thursday (74-24).
"Some of the House amendments to
the bill are concerning, but it still has the potential to provide relief to
thousands of seriously ill West Virginians," said Matt Simon of the
Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), who is a West Virginia native and graduate of
West Virginia University. "We commend the Legislature for passing this
compassionate and much-needed legislation, and we encourage Gov. Justice to
sign it into law.
"This will be an important and,
in some cases, life-saving program," Simon said. "It is critical that
the state implement it promptly. We are committed to working with officials to
make sure the program is as effective as possible and to get it up and running
in a timely fashion. Many patients cannot afford to wait much longer."
SB 386, titled the West Virginia
Medical Cannabis Act, charges the Bureau of Public Health with regulating
medical marijuana growers, processors, and dispensaries. Patients with
specifically listed qualifying medical conditions will be allowed to use
extracts, tinctures, and other preparations of marijuana, but not marijuana in
flower or leaf form. This differs from the original version of the bill and the
medical marijuana programs in most other states. A summary of SB 386 is
available at http://bit.ly/2nbUAq3.
"There is nearly universal
support for legalizing medical marijuana in the U.S., and it spans the
political spectrum," Simon said. "This is the third state in a row to
pass a medical marijuana bill through a Republican-controlled House and Senate.
Hopefully, this is a trend that will continue with some other states and at the
federal level."
A February 2017 Quinnipiac University
Poll found 93% of U.S. voters think marijuana should be legal for medical
purposes. Twenty-eight states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S.
territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted effective medical marijuana
laws, and 18 states have adopted medical marijuana laws that are ineffective
because they are either unworkable or exceptionally restrictive. Once S.B. 386
is signed into law, only three states in the nation — Idaho, Indiana, and
Kansas — will lack any form of medical marijuana law.
The Marijuana Policy Project is the
nation’s largest marijuana policy organization. For more information, visit http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.
Contact
Matt Simon
603-391-7450, msimon@mpp.org
603-391-7450, msimon@mpp.org
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