KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffPros & Cons of Medical Marijuana

Pros & Cons of Medical Marijuana

By CJ Cassidy - bio | email

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - Medical marijuana is getting a lot of buzz in the wake of a new policy issued by the Department of Justice.

The new guidelines state pot smoking patients and their marijuana suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution as long as they follow state laws.

So far 14 other states allow the use of medical marijuana.

I spoke with a drug investigator and a doctor, and they had some very different opinions on this issue, but they both agree lawmakers in Missouri now have a chance to observe how those 14 other states deal with the issue before making any decisions themselves.

"The drug cartels I guarantee you are sitting back waving a flag," Sgt. Kevin Glaser with the SEMO Drug Task Force said. He believes the bad guys scored with the new Justice Department drug policy.

"They are elated over this decision with the Justice Department. They see all dispensaries as an avenue to get their product out there," he said.

Glaser says keeping tabs on the booming dispensaries could also add up to a lot of extra work for state and local police.

"When you stop and look at the problems we're having with pharmacies and the distribution of a lot of legal drugs but they're being obtained by people that don't need them and now you're going to throw marijuana into the mix," he said.

Still, Dr. Byron Glenn with Cape Urgent Care says medical marijuana could help many critically ill patients smoke away their pain.

"From a physician's standpoint to me medical marijuana is much more attractive to me than the opiates we are using which are highly addictive and fraught with a host of side effects and complications," he said.

Glenn agrees weeding out the legitimate patients from those who are trying to get the drug illegally would be tough, but he says consider this:

"As a physician we should always have the right to choose what type of care is best for our patients. Often times insurance companies in particular they have the upper hand in what treatments are allowed.

None of our heartland states allow the use of medical marijuana, but Illinois could become the 15th state to make it legal, the Illinois Senate passed a bill allowing medical marijuana and it is now before the House of Representatives.

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