Madison NORML

Madison: Medical marijuana has long been an issue in Wisconsin's legislature. A number of legislative hearings on the legalization of medical marijuana have been held over the years, and I have attended four, and submitted testimony at three of those.

On July 31, 1979, as a congenital glaucoma patient and a 24 year old college student, I traveled from my then-Milwaukee residence to Madison to attend a public hearing on the Therapeutic Cannabis Research Act. The first Federal IND patient, Robert Randall, testified about smoking 10 joints per day for glaucoma. The bill was not passed that session, but it came back the next, and was passed by large margins in both houses in 1981 and signed into law by then-Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus in April 1982. However, the law was quickly rendered symbolic when federal authorities refused to supply Wisconsin with their supplies of medical marijuana. You can watch a short video I made about the experience on YouTube, "Medical Cannabis in Wisconsin: Gary Storck talks of glaucoma and Wisconsin medical cannabis efforts".

After a long drought, medical cannabis returned to the Wisconsin legislature in the mid-1990's. A number of bills were introduced, all eventually dying in committee, without receiving a hearing. In the 2001 session, then-Rep. Rick Skindrud (R-Mt. Horeb),, a moderate Dane County Republican, convened an informational hearing of his Assembly State Affairs Committee on Tuesday April 10, 2001.

Testimony was limited to invited guests. Among those testifying was IMMLY Founder Jacki Rickert. Jacki led off the hearing discussing her experiences and how medicinal cannabis has benefited her and helped her regain a little quality of life.

Others testifying included Dr. Michael Miller, representing the State Medical Society and speaking in opposition and Gina Dennik-Champion, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Nurses Association, testifying in favor. Also giving testimony were then-Rep. Frank Boyle (D-Superior), a longtime supporter, and then-Dane County Sheriff Gary Hamblin, a prostate cancer survivor.

Then-Rep. Gregg Underheim (R-Oshkosh) had become interested in medical cannabis in 2003, around the same time as myself accompanied by Jim Miller, visiting for Harvest Fest, stopped by his office and had a lengthy talk with a staffer about the issue. As Health Committee chair in 1997, Underheim had refused to hold a Health committee hearing on that session's bill, saying "It's not about medicine, it's about intoxication." That bill was sponsored by Frank Boyle and then-State Rep. Tammy Baldwin, now a U.S. Congressperson representing Madison.

But by 2003, Underheim was a cancer survivor himself. The following session, Underheim convened and chaired a public hearing of his Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2005, the topic, AB740, his bill to legalize medical cannabis in Wisconsin.

Testimony was heard from IMMLY's Jacki Rickert and Gary Storck, WNA director Dennik-Champion, Federal patient Irv Rosenfeld and others. A number of other Wisconsin patients testified, including the late Mary Powers. A synopsis can be found in a blog post I wrote, "Recap of Nov. 22 Public Hearing for AB-740".

Unfortunately, Rep. Underheim never put AB740 to a committee vote, and patients who traveled long distances in pain and revealed personal medical information to hostile committee members never got the satisfaction of a up and down vote. He did not seek reelection the following term.

The fourth hearing was an informational hearing on Wed. Nov. 14, 2007. Sen. Jon Erpenbach, the Senate lead sponsor of this session's SB368, held a hearing of the Committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance and Job Creation that he chaired. Those invited to testify included IMMLY's Jacki Rickert and Gary Storck, Federal IND patient George McMahon, who flew in by private plane from Iowa, as well as two physicians who are experts in the field of medical cannabis, Dr. David Bearman, Wisconsin native now practicing in Santa Barbara California and Dr. Chris Fichtner, an Illinois doctor with very extensive credentials. Dr. Bearman also held a book signing and spoke at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine while in Madison. The UW Badger Herald covered the hearing with an article, "Senate hearing on medical marijuana turns emotional". The hearing is archived in video at Wisconsin Eye.

Long suffering Wisconsin patients and those who care about them are hoping that the State Capitol's next hearing on medical cannabis on Tuesday Dec. 15 at 10am is the charm, and that their testimony will convince state lawmakers that this session it needs to be, "This bill, this time!" For more information on how you can help pass the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, submit testimony at the hearing, read the bill test or donate, visit JRMMA.org, IMMLY.org or MadisonNORML.org.