Local lawmakers split over failed medical marijuana bill; voters may have a say

Two days after approving a medical-marijuana bill, the Missouri House reversed its stand, rejecting final passage of the legislation on a vote of 66 for to 87 against.

The rejection came as a surprise to state Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson.

A co-sponsor of the bill, Lichtenegger thought the measure would pass. She said the measure had been amended to allow the use of marijuana only for hospice patients who are dying from cancer.

“I was flabbergasted, because it was so limited,” she said Monday of the final vote. “We know we had the votes, but people switched.”

One of those who switched was state Rep. Kathy Swan, R-Cape Girardeau.

Rep. Kathy Swan

Swan was among 91 lawmakers who voted for the amended bill April 19. The measure passed by a 32-vote margin.

But Thursday, lawmakers rejected the measure by a 21-vote margin. Swan voted with the majority of her colleagues in opposing the legislation.

Swan said she initially voted for the bill because it would have restricted use of the drug to dying cancer patients. Initially, the bill would have allowed marijuana to be used by patients suffering from various diseases, she pointed out.

“I wasn’t in favor of it to begin with,” she said.

Swan said she voted against final passage of the measure in large part because various law-enforcement groups opposed allowing even limited use of the drug.

Rep. Holly Rehder

“I think it is a gateway drug,” she said of marijuana, echoing the view of many in law enforcement.

Opponents had argued permitting any form of legalized marijuana would lead to higher drug use by teenagers and even more pro-drug laws in the future.

“This is the elephant getting his nose under the tent,” Swan said of the measure, citing a comment from a fellow lawmaker.

But Lichtenegger said she believes Missouri needs to adopt regulations in advance of any initiative petition effort that would legalize marijuana and allow cannabis shops to open, as has happened in Colorado.

Efforts to legalize marijuana have sprouted up all over the nation, she said. Twenty-three states permit medical cannabis, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Pro-marijuana supporters have been collecting voter signatures in Missouri to place a referendum on the November ballot. One petitioner sought voter signatures outside the Arena Building polling place in Cape Girardeau at the municipal election earlier this month.

The “New Approach Missouri” effort has collected over 200,000 signatures so far, according to John Payne, the group’s political director. Some 168,000 signatures are needed to put the issue on the ballot, but Payne said the group wants to make sure it has more than enough signatures because some likely will prove to be invalid.

Petitions must be submitted to the Missouri secretary of state’s office by 5 p.m. May 8 to be considered for the November ballot.

The proposal seeks to amend the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana and allow physicians to decide when their patients need the drug. If approved by a simple majority, Payne envisions as many as 160 privately operated medical cannabis dispensaries would be established throughout the state.

As for the House bill, Lichtenegger said it would not have allowed people to “smoke a joint.” The marijuana would have been available to patients through intravenous injections or pills, she explained.

The legalization effort is not going away, Lichtenegger said, suggesting Missouri will continue to be faced with how to regulate it.

“People can stick their heads in the ground and act like an ostrich; I am not willing to do that,” she said.

State Rep. Holly Rehder, R-Sikeston, twice voted against the bill last week. Rehder said she was concerned the measure would open the door to further use of marijuana for a whole variety of diseases.

“To me, that was a big red flag,” she said.

Rehder said she also worried state senators might amend the legislation to expand marijuana use.

“I feel like the original intent of this bill was much broader,” she said.

Meanwhile, voters in Swan’s Cape Girardeau district remain almost evenly divided on the issue. Nearly 48 percent of about 400 survey respondents this spring favored allowing the use of medical marijuana, while just over 49 percent opposed the idea. Another 3 percent gave no opinion.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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