Please Take Action: Tell Your Senator Not to Expand Conditions that Qualify for Medical Marijuana 

S.216, which passed the Senate Judiciary Committee last Friday, is headed to the Senate Floor for a vote this Wednesday and Thursday.  After taking NO testimony from physicians or the Medical Marijuana Review Board, this bill aims to expand the definition of “debilitating medical conditions” in which medical marijuana could be deemed as a qualified treatment to include: “Other diseases, conditions, or treatment as determined in writing by a qualifying patient’s health care professional.”  

VMS submitted a memo to both the Senate Judiciary and the Senate Health and Welfare Committees expressing our grave concerns that this language would essentially qualify any medical condition, whether physical, emotional or psychological, as appropriately treated with medical marijuana.

This bill also requires: "The use of marijuana by a registered patient shall not be the sole factor disqualifying the patient from any needed medical procedure or treatment, including organ and tissue transplants.”  VMS maintains physicians have critical considerations to make in determining a patient’s ability to withstand any medical procedure or treatment and should not be legally prohibited from weighing certain factors that may impact the appropriateness of a treatment or organ and tissue transplants.  

The Committee did not take testimony on evidence-based information regarding the effectiveness of medical marijuana on specific conditions, nor marijuana use and organ transplants. 

Please call or email your Senator to ask them to vote NO on this bill.  Call the Sergeant-in-Arms at 802-828-2228 or click here to find your Senator's email. 

Thank you,
VMS Policy Team