Shilling backs Compassionate Cannabis Care Act as Democrats partner with health professionals and patients in medical marijuana push.

MADISON – On the heels of a bipartisan effort to legalize marijuana oil for the treatment of children with seizures, Democratic legislators are pushing to expand access to comprehensive care through the use of medical marijuana.

The Compassionate Cannabis Care Act authored by Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) and Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) would legalize physician-supervised access to medical marijuana. The bill has gained widespread support from health professionals, patients and Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse).

“Most people view medical marijuana as an issue of providing comprehensive health care to those with serious illnesses,” said Shilling. “Medical research, scientific studies, and personal experiences clearly support the use of medical marijuana. I think it’s time to look at our laws and consider joining the majority of states that have already legalized medical marijuana to help treat patients with unbearable and debilitating pain.”

Medical marijuana is currently legal in 28 states including the border states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. In addition to expanding health care treatment options, states that have legalized the use of medical marijuana have experienced a nearly 25 percent drop in deaths from opioid overdoses compared to states that did not have those laws.

“Opioids kill 80 Americans every day,” added Shilling. “If we want to get serious about saving lives, everything should be on the table - especially since studies indicate that medical marijuana can be a more effective and less addictive treatment for pain. For cancer patients, glaucoma sufferers and other ailing citizens, medical marijuana is one potential tool health professionals can use to treat serious medical conditions and ease their suffering.”

National polling in May 2016 showed that 89 percent of Americans support medical marijuana. Organizational support for physician-supervised access to medical marijuana includes the Wisconsin Nurses Association, the Wisconsin Public Health Association, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arthritis Research Campaign, the American Bar Association, the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine and the Lymphoma Foundation of America.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/teaching-students-s5.jpgGov. Walker’s recently released plan on school funding falls short of providing children with a great education regardless of where they live or to fix the school funding formula. Stable funding through an improved equalization aid formula is needed to provide children with a great education across the state.

Wasting more money on lawyers to defend legislative districts recently ruled unconstitutional is an affront not just to the taxpayers but to the voters who have been denied fair elections and their true choice of representation in the State Legislature.

MADISON, WI - The Republican framers of Wisconsin's legislative districts, which were recently ruled unconstitutional, voted in secret last week to pay two undisclosed law firms an indeterminate amount of tax dollars in an effort to defend the maps. These are the same Republicans who already paid lawyers $2.1 million to set up and defend the unconstitutional districts through two lawsuits.

“Republican leaders can’t agree on how to fix our roads, find a way to keep and attract good teachers or make good on the Governor’s promise to create 250,000 jobs, but they can agree to give a blank check to high-priced corporate lawyers to defend their rigging of our elections," said Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay). “Instead of wasting more tax dollars GOP leaders should follow the federal court order and draw new, fair maps."

To do any less than the court order requires is an affront not just to the taxpayers but to the voters who have been denied fair elections and their true choice of representation in the State Legislature. Even better would be to pass Senate Bill 13 that would provide real, non-partisan redistricting reform.

“Unfortunately, it is clear from their recent actions that legislative Republicans do not care about safe roads, good public schools, Wisconsin’s workers, fair elections or the taxpayers," concludes Hansen, a champion of fair elections. "All they are concerned with is maintaining the unfair advantage they bought themselves with the public’s tax dollars.”

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Jay Wadd contributed to this story.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/highway-crowded-s5.jpgState highway Projects have cost $3 billion more than projected, and the quality of Wisconsin roads have deteriorated in just five years. What's wrong, and what can we do better?

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/trump-devos-s5.jpgBetsy DeVos and her family invested $3.2 million to help elect 21 US senators who will now vote. Will Monday’s Vote on Senate Floor Be Payback time? Will Sen. Johnson Pay Her Back or Recuse Himself?

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/voter-primaries-s5.jpgWisconsin voters have been voting in gerrymandered districts that were ruled unconstitutional and must be redone by 2018. The League of Women Voters offers possible ways to accomplish that effort fairly.