On Monday, former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty announced his decision to run for President of the United States. This should have been cause for concern for marijuana reformers and medical marijuana patients, and today that concern was justified.

Gov. Pawlenty has been no friend to marijuana reform in the past. In 2009, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed only terminally ill Minnesotans to use marijuana to ease their pain in their final days. Even though this bill was narrowly tailored to address the concerns of law enforcement, Pawlenty vetoed it regardless, citing… further law enforcement concerns.

This is the same guy who supported a court decision that could have made possession of bong water a felony.

Given this disturbing behavior, and the damage that an anti-marijuana zealot in the White House could do to all the progress we have made in the last few years, we decided to find out if T-Paw still feels the same about the issue.

He does.

After speaking today at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. on such subjects as limited government, federal interference in health care, and saving taxpayer money, MPP’s Bob Capecchi asked the former governor how he could justify vetoing the Minnesota medical marijuana bill, given his stances on these issues.

Pawlenty dodged these obvious inconsistencies completely, and deferred to his standard rhetoric.

“Marijuana? Yeah,” Pawlenty said. “Well… I stood with law enforcement on this issue. We just have a respectful difference on this issue.”

He also mentioned that law enforcement have pretty serious concerns about medical marijuana. Is one of those concerns losing the ability to waste taxpayer money arresting sick people? This difference of opinion doesn’t seem respectful to seriously ill people, let alone to ideological consistency or integrity.

Marijuana reform could become a huge issue during the next presidential election. It is important that we keep putting pressure on candidates to clearly state their position on the issue, and to hold them accountable for that stance in the polls. We need to confront every candidate at every opportunity! Some of us are sure to get chances to question the candidates prior to the election, so let’s use them!

Please send any video of candidates answering such questions to outreach@mpp.org.

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On April 30, Gov. Schweitzer announced that while he was not pleased that the legislature had ignored most of the amendments he suggested when he first sent the bill back to them, he felt that it would be better to pass S.B. 423 than leave the status quo. He said he will let the bill become law without signing or vetoing it. He still has time to change his mind, however.

Under S.B. 423, larger marijuana-growing operations and all dispensaries must shut down by July 1. Patients will have to grow their own or obtain it for free from a provider who can grow for up to three people. In addition, doctors who certify 25 patients will have to pay for an investigation into their practices.

Patients and Families United plans to launch a statewide referendum campaign soon and will need help from far and wide. If enough signatures are gathered with the required geographic distribution, S.B. 423 might be prevented from taking effect prior to putting it before voters in November 2012.

Gov. Schweitzer should be commended for vetoing the bill to completely repeal the medical marijuana law and for attempting to get the legislature to amend the current bill in a reasonable fashion. He shouldn’t give up now. S.B. 423 is bad for patients, doctors, and businesses. It will put many Montanans out of work and many more sick people back in pain. And instead of creating a regulated, controlled system for distribution, it will have the opposite effect from what the legislators intended, specifically driving patients into the hands of illicit drug dealers.

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The governor stated that the bill, as written and passed by the House and Senate, is unconstitutional. He also expressed disappointment in the legislature for wasting nearly the entire session trying to thwart the will of Montana voters by passing bills that are nothing but repeal in disguise.

From Missoulian:

Schweitzer said he doesn’t believe the bill will survive a legal challenge.

“I’m kind of disgusted right now,” he said…

… Schweitzer criticized the Legislature for managing to “squander away” most of the 90-day legislative session before sending him the bill. He said lawmakers already know it’s unconstitutional, which is why they put a “severability clause” in it, saying if a court strikes down part of the bill, the rest stands. Severability clauses are common in complex bills.

“Why don’t you just pass something that works, that’s constitutional and that can survive the test of time?” he asked.

If the legislature does not transmit the bill in time for an amendatory veto, Gov. Schweitzer will be forced to either veto it outright or allow it to become law. From his statements, it’s not hard to guess which way he’s leaning.

In addition, it appears that the governor of Montana did not overreact to recent statements from U.S. Attorneys in Washington that the federal government could prosecute medical marijuana businesses and state employees involved in licensing them. Unlike Gov. Gregoire, he probably looked at the absence of such prosecutions in states like Rhode Island, Maine, Colorado, and New Mexico, all of which have state-licensed dispensaries. Just because the Department of Justice says they can go after marijuana businesses does not mean that they will, and the experiences of these states suggest that they are not likely to do so, particularly in states that have clear regulations allowing dispensaries.

Let’s all reach out and thank Governor Schweitzer for treating medical marijuana in a rational, principled, and compassionate manner. If he keeps standing up for the will of the people of Montana, his re-election is “guar-an-dang-teed!”

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer breaks out the "veto brand" on bad bills. - Associated Press photo

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While this is a wonderful sign of support from the governor, medical marijuana patients and businesses are still at risk. The legislature is currently considering another bill that would seriously damage the ability of patients to access their medicine, and would destroy the legitimate medical marijuana industry that has emerged in Montana. S.B. 423, and especially the House version of the bill, would add to the already staggering unemployment rate in Montana and would effectively send patients back to criminal organizations to get their medicine. It would also severely limit the number of patients for whom a caregiver can grow marijuana.

Hopefully, the Senate will reject the House’s version of “repeal lite” and insist on a more compassionate proposal. Even if the Senate rejects the House’s unworkable bill, though, the Senate version was also too onerous and unworkable, especially for pain patients. Patients will likely need to rely on the governor to see the error in this bill as well, and suggest reasonable regulations for Montana’s medical marijuana industry that do not hurt patients or their caregivers.

Montana residents, please ask your senators to reject House amendments to S.B. 423.

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Two-thirds majorities were needed in both the state House and Senate to override Lynch’s veto. The override passed in the House by a vote of 240-115, but came two votes shy in the Senate, which voted 14-10.

This result is particularly disappointing because an overwhelmingly majority of New Hampshire residents (71% according to a recent poll) support protecting seriously ill patients through medical marijuana laws. Unfortunately, several cowardly legislators remain under the impression that voting in favor of compassionate and commonsense laws might hurt them politically.

Fortunately, this fight is not over. MPP and our allies in New Hampshire will continue to work toward marijuana policy reform in the Granite State. Already we have seen tremendous progress: In 2007, the state House voted down a medical marijuana bill, but today, 67.6% of the House voted to make a medical marijuana bill law.

Learn more about the campaign in New Hampshire here.

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