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Galileo Galilei
11-19-2009, 12:42 AM
Libertarian Party of Wisconsin: Tri-partisan support for medical care reform in Wisconsin

11/17/2009

Contact:
Jim Maas, Vice Chair 715-212-7007 vicechair@lpwi.org
Ben Olson, Chair 608-381 6572 chairman@lpwi.org

[Rothschild] The Wisconsin Green Party and the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin Democratic supporters of making medical marijuana legally available to patients.

"Medical marijuana isn't a partisan issue - it's an issue that speaks to us all," said Jill Bussiere, of the Wisconsin Green Party. "Any of us who have or will have cancer, or who know family members or friends that have or will have cancer, will benefit from this bill. Medical marijuana provides relief to thousands of patients with cancer and a variety of other ailments. The Wisconsin Green Party joins Libertarians, Republicans, and Democrats and Independents in supporting legislation that will make this drug legally available to those patients who can benefit from it."

Ben Olson, Chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, noted that some politicians seem far behind the voters on this issue. "Large majorities in a recent poll support medical marijuana use across all demographic groups, ages, and political persuasions. Will the politicians listen to their constituents or the big pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists?" asked Olson.

With organizations like the Wisconsin Nurses Association and the Wisconsin Public Health Association taking favorable positions on medical marijuana, and with massive public support, tri-partisan supporters are hopeful that seriously ill Wisconsinites will soon be able to receive the compassionate care that they deserve.

Other medical organizations that have endorsed medical access to Marijuana include: the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians; American Bar Association; American Public Health Association; American Society of Addiction Medicine; AIDS Action Council; Consumer Reports Magazine; Kaiser Permanente; Lymphoma Foundation of America; National Association of Attorneys General; National Association of People with AIDS; National Nurses Society on Addictions; New England Journal of Medicine.

Religious organizations in support include the United Methodist Church, Episcopal Church, Unitarian Universalist Association, Union for Reform Judaism, United Church of Christ, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

A few of the editorial boards that have endorsed medical access to marijuana include: Boston Globe; Chicago Tribune; Miami Herald; New York Times; Orange County Register; USA Today, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Many organizations have favorable positions (e.g., unimpeded research) on medical marijuana. These groups include: The Institute of Medicine, The American Cancer Society; American Medical Association; Federation of American Scientists; and the National Academy of Sciences.

According to Jim Maas, Vice Chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin, “According to a recent national survey of U.S. physicians conducted for the American Society of Addiction Medicine, nearly half of all doctors with opinions support legalizing cannabis as a medicine.”

Most recently, the largest association of doctors of internal medicine and the second largest medical association in the country, the American College of Physicians, released a policy paper in support of medical cannabis, stating, "The ACP strongly urges protection from criminal or civil penalties for patients who use medical marijuana as permitted under state laws."

“Perhaps if pharmaceutical companies and the state could have figured out how to monopolize a medicinal herb, this would have changed long ago. The cruelty associated with criminalizing its use by sick people has become too much for the people of Wisconsin,” said Maas.

The Libertarian Party of Wisconsin seeks a world of liberty; a world in which all individuals control their own lives and are never forced to compromise their values or sacrifice their property.

http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=177136