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Common Council considers medical marijuana laws

WBFO News file photo

While state officials work through the time table for the legalization of medical marijuana, Buffalo Common Council members are reviewing local laws on the issue.

     

The Buffalo Cannabis Movement wants more than just medical marijuana, although that's part of it. The group also wants decriminalization under 35-grams which is higher than the current state law. Group members shared their thoughts at Tuesday's meeting of the Council Legislation Committee.

Council President Darius Pridgen says he has changed his views of marijuana legalization.

"Because I grew up in a time of the War Against Drugs and all that, when I first heard this, I was like: Oh no, absolutely not. This is wrong," Pridgen said.

"Once I learned the science of it, and the fact this isn't about children sitting around and rolling up a joint and smoking it, but about oils and those type of things that could help them live better. I'm absolutely in support of that."

The big area of agreement in this debate revolves around medical uses of marijuana, with one speaker saying his two children would benefit a great deal from the drug instead of the vast amount of pills they take now.

The Supreme Court has clouded the issue in a decision on Monday which argued federal rules control use under state law.
 

Mike Desmond is one of Western New York’s most experienced reporters, having spent nearly a half-century covering the region for newspapers, television stations and public radio. He has been with WBFO and its predecessor, WNED-AM, since 1988. As a reporter for WBFO, he has covered literally thousands of stories involving education, science, business, the environment and many other issues. Mike has been a long-time theater reviewer for a variety of publications and was formerly a part-time reporter for The New York Times.