POLICE NOTEBOOK: Medical marijuana topic of expo

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By Travis Morse
The Journal-Standard
Thu Aug 07, 2008, 09:58 PM CDT

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Freeport, Ill. -


Critical look at medical marijuana laws: Drug critic Calvina Fay will give a presentation on efforts across the U.S. to legalize marijuana during the 8th annual Midwest Security & Police Conference/Expo set for next week (week of August 10-16, 2008) in Rosemont.



Fay, executive director of Drug Free America Foundation, Inc., in St. Petersburg, Fla., will be one of several speakers at the two-day event, which is scheduled for Aug. 12 to 13, 2008, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.


The expo is designed to showcase state-of-the-art security and law enforcement equipment, as well as be a forum for educational presentations related to law enforcement. Approximately 175 companies will be displaying equipment and products at the expo.


Fay's presentation will take place at 9 a.m. on Aug. 13. She said her remarks will provide an overview of the tactics used by different groups to legalize drugs in the U.S.


In particular, Fay plans to address the movement to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, a movement that is ongoing in Illinois, she said. There is proposed legislation in the Illinois Senate and House of Representatives to legalize marijuana on a limited basis for medicinal purposes. These bills are currently being debated in committee.


Fay said the legislation, if approved, would designate caregivers to supply marijuana, and would establish medical marijuana dispensaries where the drug would be grown and dispensed.


To Fay, these proposed laws are "alarming" as they do not set up strict enough standards for who could work for and run these dispensaries, and where these establishments could be located.


In addition, the proposed laws have vague language in describing what sort of ailments could be treated by marijuana, Fay said. Senate Bill 2865 states that patients could be eligible for this program if their physician diagnoses them as having a "debilitating medical condition."
"It's just fraught with a lot of problems, because it can be interpreted in so many different ways," Fay said.


Overall, the legalization of medical marijuana may end up hurting patients who would benefit from "legitimate medicine," Fay said. Marijuana has been shown to suppress the immune system, which could make many ailments worse, she said.


"You have truly sick people who need medical care that get scammed into thinking marijuana is a legitimate medicine," Fay said.


For more information on the police expo, visit the Web site www.mspce.com.


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