Madison NORML

So when the State Assembly took a recess to caucus early in the afternoon, I was positioned in front of one of two doors, along with two fellow Wisconsin medical cannabis patients, Mary, a 48 year old cancer/AIDS/HCV sufferer, and Brian, a multiple sclerosis patient and cancer survivor in his 40’s.

And suddenly, there he was, Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbottsford), who had blocked a mmj bill in the Criminal Justice committee he chaired in 2002 and recently had been twice quoted in state press claiming the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act was full of “loopholes” click here.

Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbottsford).

I introduced myself and Mary and Brian and told him about our medical conditions and how cannabis helped, and how his advocacy of keeping our medicine illegal was hurting patients. I showed him a photo of Mary and me with Lyn, a 21-year-old MS patient who we had talked to his staffer with on Oct. 3, and how Lyn was too sick to be there today.

The photo I showed Rep. Suder: Bud and Lyn, Gary, Mary, Oct. 3, 2007, State Capitol.

I noted that Mary, battling cancer, AIDS and HCV had been hospitalized until Sunday and yet came out in a blizzard to be at the Capitol today. I showed him a photo of Jacki Rickert and asked why he wanted to hurt her…I told him that some of us might not live to see next session, and that his opposition was helping ensure the bill would again die in committee without a hearing.

Suder responded by stating his opposition, “was not personal,” but was really unable to offer many specifics about the loopholes. He also claimed he was misquoted by the Eau Claire Leader Telegram, when they reported he said, "My heart goes out to (Rickert), but I don't want to see her used as a tool to create an avenue for those who simply want to smoke pot." As the lively hallway debate continued, he cited the conflict with federal law. But, there was more. Confronted with the reality of seriously ill patients who need medical cannabis, Rep. Suder agreed to look further into things, to talk with Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), one of the bill’s sponsors, about a workable compromise, as well as meet with me and other patients. While he cautioned that we now disagree and may still disagree later, he said we would talk.

Could this be a breakthrough? I don’t know. I do know that after over 5 years of feuding we started talking. We saw that we are all human. It is now up to Rep. Suder to continue the dialogue as promised. Scott, I'm waiting for your call!