Last Friday the Connecticut State legislature passed H.B.6715, echoing the 83% percent of Connecticut citizens who support access to medical marijuana. With the legislative session coming to a close today, the time for Governor Rell to put the final stamp of approval on vital legislation is now.

The headline in Monday's Journal Inquirer reads "Medical marijuana bill in Rell's hands." In truth, much more than the bill is in the Governor's hands as she has the opportunity to send a sincere message to her constituents: We will show patients suffering from debilitating and painful illnesses our compassion by empowering them with the ability to access medical marijuana. I join a growing mass of citizens and organizations standing together in the belief that patients and their doctors should have access to the medical care that best suits their needs.

The Governor cited the bill's language referring to eligible patients as cause for concern, but a careful reading of the bill will lay this argument to rest. The bill leaves little room for debate – naming "cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, epilepsy, cachexia, or wasting syndrome" as qualifying conditions.

The Governor must understand that an amendment limiting the bill to the terminally ill would undermine the purpose of the bill. With connections to numerous organizations including the Arthritis Foundation, Connecticut Race for the Cure, and the Breast Cancer Alliance, Governor Rell has undoubtedly seen the wreckage of illnesses such as cancer. While not necessarily a terminal disease, cancer is often a painful one.

By the Governor's own account, she is a compassionate individual. According to her biography, Rell has a history of financially and politically supporting the less fortunate. She was honored by the Lions Club International Foundation as a Melvin Jones Fellow in 2003 (the highest honor granted by the organization) for "representing humanitarian qualities such as generosity, compassion and concern."

We can only hope that she is sincere in her concern for alleviating the pain of debilitating diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. Signing H.B.6715 will set an important precedent in Connecticut and confirm that Governor Rell's past support of suffering men and women is more than a political façade.

As the chance of vetoing this critically important legislation looms and the unsympathetic rants of the opposition rage on, we must all encourage Governor Rell to sign the bill. It's time to show the people of Connecticut that we will no longer let value-laden political rhetoric infringe on the medical care provided to the sickest in our society.

Posted by Sarah Allen @ 4:25 PM