One member of the West Virginia
House of Delegates will try for a third time to get the Legislature to legalize
medical marijuana.
Taylor County Democrat Mike
Manypenny was the sole sponsor of a bill legalizing the drug for medicinal
purposes for the past two session. He said he’s heading into the 2014
Legislative session with 20 other delegates ready to sign on to the bill.
Manypenny wants to open the dialog.
“There’s been studies all over the
world. One of the most recent ones came from the University of Madrid, in
Spain, which actually shows there’s promise for using cannabis, which has the
potential for killing cancer cells,” according to the delegate.
Twenty states and the District of Columbia West Virginia
“We do need to do a lot more
research,” said Manypenny. “But in the meantime, there are a lot of people out
there that are suffering with a lot of different diseases that I believe could
be treated with this rather than using a pharmaceutical that has 20 different
side effects.”
Opponents of the bill say
legalizing medical marijuana will open the door to potentially deadly
consequences including more addiction, overdoses and child endangerment. Law
enforcement and several children’s advocacy groups across the state have
already come out against the legalization of marijuana.
Manypenny stressed West Virginians have been using medicinal plants for
hundreds of years to help those in pain.
“A lot of people still utilize
roots and herbs for medicine across the state and a lot of them are very
effective.”
Manypenny said golden seal, yellow
root and gin sing are just a few examples.
However, even he isn’t convinced
that the leadership of the House will give a legalized medical marijuana bill a
chance this session.
“I’m hopeful but I don’t know, this
being an election year,” he explained.
The 2014 Legislative session kicks
off January 8.
