Bill to legalize limited medical marijuana in Missouri heard in House committee

Again this year the Missouri House has heard testimony on whether the state should legalize marijuana for limited medicinal use.

Representative Jim Neely (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Cameron doctor and state representative Jim Neely (R) has proposed allowing the use of marijuana to treat terminal conditions.  Neely said his House Bill 1554 would expand on legislation that became law in 2014 that allows the use of a cannabis extract, cannabidiol (CBD) oil, to treat intractable epilepsy.  It would also expand on Missouri’s “right to try” law that allows doctors and patients to use drugs that haven’t completed the approval process of the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The House Committee on General Laws heard from people who said marijuana did help or could have helped their loved ones.  Jane Suozzi said her daughter Kim was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly before she graduated with two degrees from Truman State University in 2011.

After studying and pursuing multiple experimental treatments Kim turned to marijuana shortly after her diagnosis.

“Kim viewed marijuana the same as all the other experimental options she pursued.  She didn’t enjoy it but it gave her some additional hope and sometimes relieved her nausea,” Jane Suozzi testified.  “I appreciate Doctor Neely’s efforts to afford people like Kim potentially life-extending access to experimental treatments including medical cannabis.”

The committee also heard from a number of veterans and organizations that represent them.  Kyle Kisner served in the Missouri National Guard for seven years and spent tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He said for years he was treated with opioids for pain and benzodiazepines for depression, during which time he said his personality was altered and he twice attempted suicide.

“Cannabis allows me to focus.  It’s allowed me to consistently hold some kind of employment for the past few years, and for the past year-and-a-half I’ve gone back to school and I’m currently finishing up two bachelor’s degrees at Lindenwood University; something I couldn’t do when I was nodding out on three to four hours a day taking some kind of opioid or something for anxiety,” said Kisner.  “There’s thousands of veterans out there that are taking that.  You guys asked if this is medicine.  I say, ‘Yes, absolutely, without a doubt this is medicine.’”

The Missouri Prosecutor’s Association spoke against the proposal.  Its lobbyist, Woody Cozad, said for Missouri to pass legislation legalizing marijuana at any level would fly in the face of federal statute.

“Nullification was decided by the Civil War.  Whether this legislature has previously attempted to nullify federal gun law or anything else doesn’t alter the fact that under our system of government, the system for which all of these veterans including myself fought, the states don’t nullify federal laws,” said Cozad, “and it just creates a confusion that at least our members can have a lot of difficulty dealing with.”

Legislators noted that Missouri already has laws that conflict with federal laws, and questioned whether prosecuting people like those who testified for the bill – veterans and those with serious medical conditions – would be a priority for any prosecutors.

Kansas City Democrat Jon Carpenter told Cozad several states have already legalized marijuana to some extent, in spite of federal law, “and I don’t see the mass confusion happening, so I’m not sure why we would anticipate having a different experience if we were to go down this path in Missouri.”

Neely said his bill, as it is written, is about improving quality of life for patients.

“I remember, I may have been an intern, a doctor telling me that his goal as he was near the end of his life as a physician, what he did in life was to provide some comfort to people, and I guess that resonated with me,” said Neely.  “I think that’s what I’m after is that I’ve seen people struggle.  Narcotics aren’t effective, pain control, anxiety, depression, a variety of other issues that the marijuana may be beneficial.”

The committee has not voted on Neely’s bill.  Last year he filed the same language in House Bill 437 and it was voted out of two committees but was not debated in the full House.

House members again asked to consider legalizing medical marijuana in Missouri

The Missouri House is again being asked to consider legalizing marijuana for some medical purposes.

Representative Jim Neely (right) listens as Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp (left) testifies in favor of Neely's medical marijuana legislation, HB 437.  Jackson said he has a nephew that could benefit from medical marijuana.  (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Representative Jim Neely (right) listens as Jackson County Sheriff Mike Sharp (left) testifies in favor of Neely’s medical marijuana legislation, HB 437. Jackson said he has a nephew that could benefit from medical marijuana. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Bill 437 would allow the use of marijuana to treat irreversible debilitating diseases or conditions.  Its sponsor, Cameron Republican Jim Neely, said it would expand on two Missouri laws.  One allows the use of a cannabis extract, cannabidiol (CBD) oil, for treating intractable epilepsy.  The other is the “right to try” law that lets doctors and patients use drugs that haven’t completed the approval process through the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The bill would have the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services create a list of conditions for which patients could be allowed to use medical marijuana.  That list would have to include any conditions or diseases for which a clinical trial of medical marijuana has completed its first phase.

The bill would allow the Department to issue medical cannabis registration cards to Missourians 18 and older for whom a doctor has signed a statement saying the individual suffers from epilepsy or an irreversibly debilitating disease, could benefit from medical cannabis, and has considered all other treatment options.  Parents would be allowed to obtain registration cards for their children.

The House Committee on Health and Mental Health Policy heard from Doctor Adrianne Poe, who told the committee cannabis-based pain treatments would be safer than commonly used opioid-based medications.  She cited a report from the National Academy of Sciences, which said that cannabis is safe and effective in treating pain.

“That is in direct opposition to all of the literature that we have that shows there is not a shred of evidence for the safe and effective use of chronic opioids for chronic pain,” said Poe.  “According to the CDC guidelines which tell us that the very first thing that physicians need to do is find an alternative therapy to opioids for the treatment of chronic pain.  The National Academies has given us an answer on that and the answer is cannabis.”

Heidi Rayl told lawmakers Missouri should not stop with the passage of the law that has allowed her to treat her son’s seizures with CBD oil.

“This is where our state is lacking.  One type of medication does not treat everyone.  I, as Zaden’s mother, should have the right to choose what is best for him,” said Rayl.

Legislators were also told the passage of medical marijuana legislation would put Missouri’s laws in conflict with federal laws.

Jason Grellner with the Missouri, and National, Narcotics Officers' Association testifies against medical marijuana legislation.  (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)
Jason Grellner with the Missouri, and National, Narcotics Officers’ Association testifies against medical marijuana legislation. (photo; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Jason Grellner with the Missouri, and National, Narcotics Officers’ Associations, told the committee, “If you pass legislation that is in violation of the Supremacy Act of the United States regarding scheduled drugs, I don’t think you want me choosing which laws I enforce and which ones I do not.”

He also said passing a medical marijuana law would mean bypassing the FDA and its consumer protections.

“If I go to a Wallgreen’s in L.A. and buy a Tylenol and I go to a Wallgreen’s in New York City and buy a Tylenol, I am assured under FDA regulations that that is the same drug.  If I walk into a medical marijuana shop and buy purple Kush on Wednesday, there is really no assurance in any state that has medical marijuana that if I go back on another day or to another medical marijuana shop that I am getting the same drug, because there is no standardization of dose,” said Grellner.

Last year the House came the closest it’s ever been to passing medical marijuana legislation, but finally rejected a bill that would have allowed medical marijuana use only by terminal cancer patients in hospice care.

The committee’s chairman, Representative Keith Frederick (R-Rolla), said he is “contemplating” whether to have the committee vote on HB 437.