The Wisconsin State Journal published by lates Letter to the Editor online on Monday, February 14, 2022.
I've posted the letter as published below and here's the link to the letter online on the State Journal site.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Medical marijuana bill is watered down -- Gary Storck
Dear Editor,
As a glaucoma patient who has been inhaling cannabis for 50 years as a medical necessity to save my eyesight, I definitely agree with last Thursday's State Journal editorial "Medical marijuana deserves swift passage." But I do not support the inadequate, patient-unfriendly, highly restrictive legislation offered by state Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, and Rep. Pat Snyder, R-Schofield.
That bill does not allow access to cannabis flower over some GOP paranoia about smoking. I currently use a vaporizer to treat symptoms of glaucoma and other issues. Inhaling, whether via smoking or vaporizing, is the best way to titrate cannabis dosing. A patient knows exactly when they've reached their therapeutic dose.
Fortunately, a far superior bill is now being circulated by longtime medical cannabis supporters Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-West Point, and Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton. Their proposal allows patients and caregivers to cultivate up to 12 cannabis plants or obtain cannabis from a licensed dispensary. This is the bill that needs an immediate hearing and passage.
Wisconsin actually passed a medical cannabis bill in 1982, signed into law by Republican Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus. While the bill initially would have allowed cannabis flowers, it was watered down where it was basically symbolic, allowing only the prescribing of synthetic THC capsules.
Let's not disrespect our citizens in need by repeating the 1982 mistake and considering another bill that does not meet the needs of patients desperate for relief today. Let's stop playing politics and do the right thing now.
Gary Storck, Madison
One final link: At the Dec. 15, 2009 combined Assembly/Senate Combined Health Committee Hearings, which last over 8 hours, Committee on Public Health Chair Representative Chuck Benedict asked me about the 1982 law after I noted its existence in my testimony. Below is a video clip of that moment:
