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March 20, 2012
Wisconsin State Journal: Gary Storck: Finish what Dreyfus began 30 years ago
Posted by Gary Storck
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
My letter in the WI State Journal.
FINISH WHAT DREYFUS BEGAN 30 YEARS AGO
The passing of Joyce Dreyfus, widow of former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, reminds me of a time when Wisconsin elected representatives from both parties worked together for the common good.
An example was the 1982 passage of the Therapeutic Cannabis Research Act, which passed the Assembly 77-19 and the Senate 32-1. Among those voting in support were Tommy Thompson, William Bablitch, Lynn Adelman, Tom Loftus, Tim Cullen, Michael Ellis and Scott McCallum. Gov. Dreyfus signed the bill into law on April 15, 1982. It remains state law today.
While the act's language assumed federal authorities would provide medical cannabis supplies, that never happened. More than 32 states passed similar laws. Despite the lack of medicine, the fact remains that in 1982 bipartisan majorities in both houses overwhelmingly passed a medical cannabis law and Gov. Dreyfus signed it into law, placing Wisconsin officially on record in support of medical cannabis use.
Today 16 states and Washington, D.C., have medical cannabis laws, and millions of American patients - seniors, veterans, the sick, disabled and dying - are getting their medicine. Wisconsin needs to complete what Dreyfus started and make it happen here.
- Gary Storck, Madison, co-founder, Is My Medicine Legal Yet?
Posted by Gary at March 20, 2012 10:00 AM
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