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Public forum on legal marijuana bill held in Buffalo

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A bill sponsored in Albany by a Buffalo-based Assemblywoman, one that would legalize limited amounts of marijuana, was the topic of a forum hosted in Buffalo's City Hall on Wednesday.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes is sponsoring what is known as the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in the Assembly. Similar legislation is sponsored in the State Senate by Liz Kruger. Both were in City Hall on Wednesday, listening to testimony from speakers ranging from activists to medical experts.

Should the bill pass, adults would be allowed to buy up to two ounces of marijuana at a time. Smoking it would be subject to the same rules as tobacco use. Just as an alcohol user would face arrest if driving while intoxicated, pot users would also get in trouble if they tried to drive while stoned.

But speakers say adults should have the right to use marijuana in the privacy of their own homes. By decriminalizing limited amounts of weed, the state would also save millions of dollars by no longer prosecuting and incarcerating non-violent criminals. It could also raise money through taxing marijuana.

But how much could be raised? That depends, says Peoples-Stokes.

"It's going to be based on how many counties are willing to accept it, because they're going to have to opt in," she said. "Even though it would be state law, counties and individual municipalities would have to opt in and say yes, this is what we want to have."

Among those speaking at Wednesday's forum was Kevin Cruver, who identified himself as a concerned citizen. 

"As adults, people have the right to put whatever they want into their own bodies," he said. "Although some decisions aren't necessarily the best, it is those people's decisions to make, not everybody else's."

Some speakers, though, say marijuana can benefit certain medical patients. Wendy Hart observed the forum but did not speak. A cancer survivor, Hart is living with fibromyalgia and says she's in daily pain. To treat the pain, she's taking prescription opioids.

As part of her prescription, she tells WBFO, she was instructed to purchase narcan to keep handy in the event of an accidental overdose. She'd rather be allowed to use marijuana to ease her pain but says under the regulations set in the state's Compassionate Care Act, she doesn't qualify for pot.

"There's something wrong if I need something to prevent an overdose if I'm taking medicine that was prescribed by my doctors. That's just wrong," Hart said. "I wish I could have the access to the marijuana, and not all these ridiculous opiates and narcotics."

It's unclear whether Peoples-Stokes and Kruger have the support in their respective houses to pass the bill. But as they were told at the conclusion of Wednesday's hearings, "you're on the right side of history."

Michael Mroziak is an experienced, award-winning reporter whose career includes work in broadcast and print media. When he joined the WBFO news staff in April 2015, it was a return to both the radio station and to Horizons Plaza.
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