Medical marijuana bill not likely to get approval from legislators

Members of the State Senate and House of Representatives have until Wednesday to act on the proposed laws, which are currently awaiting approval in the Joint Committee on Public Health and would protect the prescription and use of marijuana by state residents whose doctors recommend it.

Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, sponsored the original proposal along with Rep. Frank Smizik, D-Brookline.

“At this point I am not optimistic that our bill will come out of committee favorably, either in the form Rep. Smizik and I submitted it or in the form proposed by citizens advancing the ballot question,” Rosenberg said in an email Monday.

The prospect of federal pressure, he said, is a main concern in the Statehouse as it examines the bills.

“I think the Legislature is reluctant to advance big changes like this involving a substance that is illegal under federal law that can override state law,” he said.

Medical marijuana legalization is becoming increasingly common on the state level, despite the federal government’s crackdown on dispensaries, which often make it easier for cannabis seekers to obtain marijuana regardless of medical status. Rosenberg said he would like to see Massachusetts adopt the reform as well.

“I sponsored the bill because I think it is time for us to join the 16 other states and Washington D.C. in making it legal for people to access medical marijuana if prescribed by their doctors,” Rosenberg said. “I see no reason why people who can get relief from pain, nausea and other symptoms shouldn’t be able to have legal access to the substance.”

Rosenberg said his legislation was based off recent laws in Rhode Island and Maine that had a reliable regulatory approach and did not compromise public safety.

However, he was not alone in his assessment of the bills as a prohibitively delicate issue.

“The Legislature is afraid to touch the issue,” Boston University political science professor Christine Rossell said in an email.

Although polls have indicated widespread support for the change, Rossell said those polls most likely were not broken down by legislative constituencies, leaving individual senators and representatives in a state of uncertainty about their constituencies’ preferences.

“I think most legislators would rather have the public decide in a referendum if a referendum is an option,” Rossell said, referring to the second piece of legislation Rosenberg mentioned.

Advocacy organizations such as the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union have urged lawmakers this year to move forward on legalization.

“Since the hearings, we’ve been following up with each committee member to urge them to support medical marijuana reform,” the MPAA’s website states. “We hope the committee will soon take favorable action on our bills.”