Errington offers amendment for medical marijuana reciprocity

 State Rep. Sue Errington (D-Muncie) today offered an amendment to House Bill 1017 which would have established medical marijuana reciprocity in Indiana. The amendment did not permit prescriptions to be written in the state but would have allowed individuals with valid, out-of-state medical marijuana prescriptions to have immunity to misdemeanor possession of up to 4.5 grams. The amendment also provided Indiana pharmacists the ability to reprint physician-ordered medical marijuana cards from other states. The amendment was blocked by House Republicans through procedural means. Errington offered the following statement regarding her amendment: 

“From Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder to epilepsy to chronic pain, medical marijuana provides countless people with relief from their ailments. While I wholeheartedly believe that Hoosiers should have the ability to opt for medical marijuana if they so choose, I also understand that this is a divisive issue, and small steps have to be implemented first. It is a no-brainer to me that we provide legal immunity to folks from the 37 states with legal medical marijuana when they are traveling to Indiana. 

“This amendment was crafted after Iowa’s medical marijuana reciprocity law. Not only do we as Hoosiers pride ourselves on being the Crossroads of America, we are also surrounded by states that allow residents to use medical marijuana. Those traveling through our state should not have to worry that they’ll face legal penalties for following their prescribed treatment plan. This amendment would have helped Indiana close the gap between our marijuana laws and public support for medical marijuana, and to set the standard that the Hoosier state will not criminalize health care. I'm disappointed that the majority party chose punishment over helping people coming through our state.”