Calling It A 'Life Saver,' North Dakota Woman Says Vote 'Yes' On Marijuana Measure
Four states have ballot measures this year asking to join the list of 25 states that have comprehensive medical marijuana programs and 17 states that permit limited access to the drug. Minnesota recently approved a plan, while several states are considering legalizing the drug altogether.
Linda Kersten is a staunch supporter of North Dakotas medical marijuana ballot initiative, Measure 5. The Newburg resident opted for marijuana to counter the side-effects of her daughters surgeries and chemotherapy treatment for stage 4 colon cancer. In a matter of minutes, Kersten said, her daughter went from struggling to sit up in a chair to talking and walking around the block.
That was the last thing on my mind when our journey started, but it was pretty much a life saver, said Kersten, a 70-year-old retired teacher. Like any measure, your first inclination is to vote no. If I wouldnt have seen it with my own eyes, I would have been in the same boat probably.
The law would allow qualifying patients to possess up to 3 ounces of medical marijuana for treatment of about a dozen medical conditions, such as cancer, AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS, glaucoma and epilepsy. The state Health Department would issue ID cards for patients and regulate state-licensed dispensaries.
The sponsoring committee chairman, Rilie Ray Morgan, is a financial adviser from Fargo who suffers from chronic pain. He said he became interested in the subject after watching a report by CNN medical reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta extolling the benefits of medical marijuana.
He said in his narrative that before he did that show, he was 100 percent opposed to medical cannabis, Morgan said. After he did the show and did the research, he said, I have done a 180. It got me thinking that this is the time to get this going in North Dakota.
Opponents, mostly in the medical community, say there is no evidence to support safe usage of marijuana.
Dr. Joan Connell, a Bismarck pediatrician and onetime pharmacist, said its impossible to study the efficacy or side-effects or interactions of marijuana because you cant get a specific dosage from a plant.
It really becomes tough to explain that basic fact, when you have an adult who is suffering from horrible pain or when you have a child who is rolled up in front of the Legislature by their parent who is desperate for something to make something better for this child. I mean, who doesnt want to help that? Connell said.
With my experience, I understand that the way to truly help the patient is not to give that family a bag of pot and say, Good luck. You figure out the dosage, and I hope its consistent so you dont overdose your kid,' he said.
Morgan said there have been minor side-effects reported by some medical marijuana patients, but nobody has died.
Can that be said of some of the prescription drugs like opioids that doctors prescribe today? he asked. No, you cant say that.
Courtney Koebele, executive director of the North Dakota Medical Association, which has come out against the measure, said her groups No. 1 complaint is that marijuana ...
