FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jay Selthofner, Tel: 920-410-2920; Email: Jay@SelthofnerConsulting.com
PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA MIGRATION/RELOCATION RESEARCH
PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS WELCOME
Wisconsin to Michigan Medicinal Movement
Participants are needed for an undergraduate research study that is being conducted by a student/staff team specializing in geography at the University of Wisconsin Fox-Valley. We will be looking to conduct our research in the form of a single, semi-structured interview with medical marijuana patients and caregivers; mainly those who migrated internally for political-medicinal relief.
By studying the migration of medical marijuana patients to Michigan, we hope to contribute our results to the discussion on marijuana law reform, as well as the geography of health related circumstances in general. Participation in this study will provide researchers with the information necessary to examine the factors leading to interstate medical migration for access to marijuana, as well as the various cultural, social and economic impacts resulting from the choice to relocate.
Participants will never be identified in this study ever, in any way, any time – except by a participant identification number – and will remain completely anonymous in perpetuity. Benefits for participants include personal reflection and scientific contribution, and indirectly it could allow the patients to move back into Wisconsin if the research convinces legislators to move forward on policy formation regarding the medicinal uses of marijuana.
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WBAYOshkosh -
The 2012 elections saw the legalization of marijuana in two states, and now the idea is making its way to Wisconsin.
A group at a public forum in Oshkosh Wednesday night discussed why legalizing the drug would benefit the state.
You might not expect someone advocating for the legalization of marijuana to say, “I can’t think of any good reason not to regulate marijuana.”
Richard Martin explains, “We would like to see marijuana taxed and regulated and kept out of kids’ hands. We would like to see it used by responsible adults. That’s what we advocate for.”
Martin is director of Northern Wisconsin NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Inside the Oshkosh Public Library, a panel held a forum on legalizing marijuana, presented by the Fox Valley American Civil Liberties Union.
One of the panelists, a doctor, emphasized its medical benefits. Another talked about the economic impact of expected revenue if marijuana were legally sold.
“Including the tax revenue… amounts to about $13.7 billion,” Haiprasad Trivedi, MD, said.
But the recurring theme of the discussion was that keeping marijuana illegal was not making a difference. In their opinion, it’s making things worse.
“The more we try to repress drug use, the greater the drug use becomes,” Jim Gierach of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and former Chicago prosecutor, said.
The forum was meant to inform, but the panelists hope people who attended would spread the education towards the goal of legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin and throughout the country.
“The Prohibition model does not work as compared to other models, so we need to implement a new model,” THC Indicastries cannabis consultant Jay Selthofner said.
- Although marijuana remains illegal under federal law, two states recently passed their own laws legalizing it.
- In November, voters in Colorado and Washington made those states the first in the US to legalize the sale and possession of cannabis for anyone 21 and older.
- Similar recreational legalization bills have been filed in six others states: Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
- Medical marijuana is legal in 18 states. With written documentation from a physician, patients can possess, use, and in some states even grow a certain number of marijuana plants.
- Medical marijuana legislation is pending in another 11 states.
- A total of 14 states have decriminalized marijuana. Most of those states have civil fines, drug education, or drug treatment in place of incarceration or criminal charges for possession of small amounts of marijuana. Some have also made various marijuana offenses the lowest priority for law enforcement.
OSHKOSH, WI — A forum in Oshkosh Wednesday night discussed legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin. The forum hosted by the Fox Valley ACLU, featured medical experts and law enforcement. In the November election, Colorado and Washington became the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana. Wednesday, the panel discussed why Wisconsin should be next. But opponents say pot is a gateway drug that could fall into the wrong hands, like teens and youth, and could lead to harder drugs.
WBAYWinnebago County -
A group in the Fox Valley is working to educate the public as it explores the legalization of marijuana in Wisconsin.
An open forum on legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin is taking place Wednesday night at the Oshkosh Public Library.
Jay Selthofner from NORML is one of the panelists.
He says in addition to jobs that could be created in the agricultural sector, medicinal marijuana would benefit the chronically ill and disabled, and the decriminalization of it would take stress off the judicial system.
“If we look at it to alcohol and nicotine, the model of Prohibition does not work in Wisconsin and does not work in the U.S.,” Selthofner says, “so a different model rather than prohibition would be some sort of legalization/regulation, would be much more advantageous for us as a state.”
Tracy Christensen is a clinical therapist with ThedaCare behavioral health. She sees firsthand the effects of addiction.
According to Christensen, “With any use of any substance it can, initially people may get positive effects but it can definitely cause medical problems.”
And local police say legalizing marijuana just adds another problem to the street.
“The majority of our crimes in the county are tied to drug use, and we battle a huge problem with OWI’s. Legalizing marijuana just throws a whole other issue into that OWI enforcement,” says Officer Jason Weber from the Town of Menasha Police Department.
But advocates for the legalization of marijuana say that isn’t the case at all. In fact, it’s their belief if marijuana were legalized there wouldn’t be as many issues.
Selthofner says, “If we gave people a safe choice than alcohol and nicotine — and we firmly believe that marijuana is the safer choice — it is going to reduce those other things across the state the we’re concerned about.”
There are no proposals currently in the Wisconsin Legislature to legalize marijuana.
