The business with the only state license to manufacture marijuana for medical use is planning a news conference at the state capitol today, hoping to convince lawmakers to let more Iowans use cannabis products.
Senators from both sides of the aisle favor the move, but House leaders are against changing the law which limits use to about 15 medical conditions.
Senator Tom Greene, a Republican from Burlington who is a pharmacist, supports a law that would let cannabis oil, pills or creams be used as treatment whenever a doctor thinks it might be useful.
“I think it behooves every one of us here in the Senate to contact our representatives who serve our same districts in the House and tell them that 80 percent of Iowans want us to move on medical cannabis,” Greene said.
Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, said there’s been a reduction in opioid overdose deaths in states that have legalized marijuana for broader medical use.
“We’re raging incrementalists here, how we approach these issues, but at some point it’s time to step up and look around the country, see what’s working and take some votes around here on some of this stuff,” Bolkcom said.
House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, a Republican from Clear Lake, last week said lawmakers should wait until an advisory board reviews the new state law and makes recommendations later this year. Cannabis products will be sold from five state-licensed “dispensaries” starting December 1.