A tearful mother, one of several who testified at a State Capitol press conference Wednesday to make an impassioned plea for a medical marijuana law, said that Gov. Mark Dayton had earlier suggested to her and others that they obtain the drug illegally.
Jessica Hauser, of Woodbury, said the suggestion came during a private meeting March 13 at the governor’s mansion with family members and others advocating for the legalization of medical marijuana.
“I was incredibly hopeful when Governor Dayton invited me into his home a couple of weeks ago,” said Hauser, whose son Wyatt has infantile spasms, a form of epilepsy that she said causes her child to have hundreds of seizures per day. She said Wyatt has tried 10 epileptic medications and a specialized diet, with no success, and is not a candidate for surgery.
“So I explained to [the governor] how my son and others like him would benefit from safe and legal access to medical marijuana. I told him in great detail our story and our struggles. My optimism quickly turned to dismay when, after hearing my son’s story, the governor actually suggested I should just find medical marijuana for my son off the street.
“This is our state’s top official looking me in the eye and telling me that I should have to break the law to buy marijuana from an illegal drug dealer instead of being able to access it safely and legally from a tightly regulated state licensed provider as outlined in the H.F. 1818 bill. Is that what his friends in law enforcement would prefer as well?”
Proposed research
The press conference was called after Dayton released the draft of a proposal last week to invest $2.2 million in a Mayo Clinic research trial of cannabidiol (CBD), a nonpsychoactive component in marijuana that has been used in Colorado and other states to control seizures in children.
Medical marijuana proponents quickly pointed out the historic and ongoing barriers to such research.
“At least 34 states have tried this approach. It doesn’t work,” said Heather Azzi, political director of Minnesotans for Compassionate Care, at Wednesday’s press conference. “Without establishing a supply of cannabis that is legal to study in Minnesota, there will be no research. This is the major flaw with the governor’s proposal.”
In an interview Tuesday with WCCO’s John Hines, Dayton expressed his frustration at the lack of support for his proposal. And in a statement Wednesday, he said he had been “wrongly portrayed as the sole barrier to sufferers and their access to medical marijuana.”
‘I do not advocate breaking the law’
Further, he said in yet another statement, “I cannot, and I do not, advocate breaking the law. But as a father, I understand parents who would do anything possible to help their children. If advocates agree to the compromise solution my administration has proposed – which I believe would provide their children with the medication and relief they need as quickly as possible – then something can be accomplished on this issue this session.”
Said Azzi: “The comments that the governor has made … have been hard for us to hear. We have been accused of blocking research for hundreds of kids. We have been accused of being uninterested in carrying a bill forward that is no more limited that H.F. 1818. We have been accused of wanting nothing more than to smoke marijuana recreationally.”
In his statement regarding the research proposal, Dayton cited the need for a rigorous testing and research process before any drug is made available for consumers. He also cited concerns about marijuana’s negative effects. And he urged stakeholders to work together toward a compromise.
But, said Azzi: “We are not interested in the governor’s proposal as drafted, because it amounts to no more than smoke and mirrors.”
The Governor is THE problem
Governor Dayton is THE barrier to the passage of medical marijuana. He is not fooling anyone. Let the legislative process work without giving some law enforcement veto power (he has empowered only the anti-marijuana elements of law enforcement, not the pro-legalization law enforcement groups) or let the public vote this fall. Over 20 states have already legalized medical marijuana. Minnesota should be one of them.
The governor is hiding behind a bunch of misconceptions. it is too bad he is so ignorant on this topic.
Saying that I rely on the police and law enforcement gang is ridiculous. The law enforcement has a vested interest to keep cannibis illegal. They get money from the DOJ to fight cannabis and other drug use. Since cannabis is the easiest to arrest people for they get a lot of kudos and money from the feds. They also get all that forfieted personal property, yes the police can steal at their whim. Who would want to shut off that cash cow.
Dayton stand up and be a man or at least a decent human. Listen to these people and stop telling them to be illegal. Now you seem to be helping the police get money money and put more in Jail. Was your intent to tell teh police who to go after?
Politicians only do what they get paid (by others) to do.
Dayton has criticized advocates for not compromising, and says it will be their fault if there is no advancement on the issue.
Where has his criticism and blame of law enforcement been?
Advocates have offered compromise after compromise to law enforcement after Dayton asked the two groups to talk together, and Law enforcement rejected all of them, while making no offers of their own.
Drug forfeitures
Law enforcement will never compromise on this because they have a vested financial interest in drug prohibition. If marijuana is made legal – even just for medical use – they will see a decrease in revenue from drug forfeitures. This has nothing to do with public safety – its just about cash.
There is a bill in the legislature right now that limits drug forfeitures – law enforcement keeping cash and belongings used in drug crimes – to cases where the defendant is actually found guilty. As it stands now, law enforcement can keep your money, even if you are found not guilty. Sounds like a reasonable bill, right? Not for law enforcement – they are fighting the guilt requirement just like they are fighting medical marijuana.
Politically, it is very difficult to criticize law enforcement. It takes real political courage to stand up and say that law enforcement is wrong. Unfortunately, Mark Dayton has demonstrated that he has no courage whatsoever. Listening to the he-said, she-said about whether Dayton told the families of these sick children to buy marijuana illegally is just pathetic and makes me embarassed that I ever voted for the guy.
Couldn’t agree more, Dan
Although a choice between voting for Dayton or Emmer wasn’t really a choice at all, and one only has to look east across the river to see a vision of what this state could have devolved into had Emmer won. That being said, I’m truly baffled at Dayton’s response to this issue. He’s obviously bowed to the will of law enforcement, who as you correctly pointed out, are addicted to the funding from easy forfeitures of cash and property, but even more troubling is his knowledge of the issue doesn’t seem to have any more sophistication past “reefer madness” stereotypes. I like the guy, but I’m extremely disappointed in his tepid, uniformed response. I expected bold, progressive leadership on what should be a no-brainer solution in the year 2014.
Medical advise
When the gov. blows out a kidney or breaks a leg he should go to the local police department for treatment.
I DO advocate breaking the law. Because laws that are clearly wrong, racist and unjust need to be, are required to be, broken by every moral and right thinking human being. The war on drugs, as epitomized by Mark Dayton’s idiotic statements, is an unthinking, immoral assault on human rights and all that America supposedly stands for. If you think this sounds crazy, look no further than the founding fathers’ complete disdain for the tyrannical laws of the British Empire imposed upon them without their consent that caused the American Revolution.