GOP Congresswoman Says Medical Marijuana Helped Her Aunt Deal With Cancer Symptoms

A GOP congresswoman says that while she’s concerned about “free-for-alls”
with marijuana laws, she understands the importance of having a “robust”
medical program—a position partly informed by her own aunt’s experience
using cannabis to treat symptoms of cancer.

At a town hall event in Iowa on Wednesday, a constituent who identified as
a Democrat spoke to Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) about the issue, while
describing her personal friendship with a Republican, which she said has
kept their relationship “exciting, to say the least.”

The woman added that she would like to see more Democrats elected so that
“people like myself could use the marijuana for my paralyzed legs and my
whole body to make it feel better.”

Hinson sympathized with the attendee, saying it’s “important” to maintain
friendships and have have political conversations in a “civilized manner”
despite disagreements, including around cannabis policy.

“I think what’s really important around the conversation around medical
marijuana is making sure that it’s for medical use,” she said. “Iowa does
have a program. I know we worked on it when I was in the state legislature.
I think there have been some changes to it since I last reviewed that
policy and looked at it.”

“My concern with free-for-alls around marijuana are that there are no tests
right now for sobriety—for marijuana, unlike alcohol—where if you get in a
car and you hurt or kill someone while you’re driving drunk, you can
immediately be tested for how intoxicated you are as of right now,” the
congresswoman said. “I don’t think there is the same test for marijuana,
which I think could be helpful in making sure law enforcement could
properly assess whether somebody did break the law or not.”

She went on to say, however, that she finds it important to “have a robust
medical marijuana program, which we do here in Iowa.” And she shared a
personal anecdote about why she holds that policy position.

“My own aunt had multiple myeloma. It’s been several years ago since she
passed away, but she also took medical marijuana because she had that
cancer, and it was the thing that allowed her to be able to eat and stay
alive long enough to fight as long as she did,” Hinson said. “She lived 16
years with multiple myeloma— blood cancer—so I understand how important
having that access to something that can make you feel better is and will
happily, happily take a look at it as long as we can make sure the science
backs it up on the legal arguments.”

In Congress, Hinson voted against a marijuana legalization bill but
supported a separate measure aimed at making it easier to study cannabis.
She also voted for a bill to increase marijuana businesses’s access to
banks.


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Iowa’s medical cannabis program is relatively restrictive, preventing
patients from buying marijuana flower and prohibiting home cultivation. But
the law as revised in recent years is more expansive than what was
initially enacted in 2014, and lawmakers introduced a bill this session
that would allow for up to double the number of dispensaries operating in
the state.

The legislature has continued to resist calls to legalize marijuana for
adult use, however. And the state has faced lawsuits from industry
stakeholders over a law enacted last year that restricts hemp-derived THC
beverages.

Meanwhile, the Iowa House last month passed a bill to legalize the
therapeutic use of psilocybin for patients with certain mental health
conditions.

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Cancer Symptoms appeared first on Marijuana Moment.