ST. CROIX — Senator Terrence “Positive” Nelson today announced via press release that he has submitted his landmark medical marijuana legislation, dubbed the U.S. Virgin Islands Medical Cannabis Patient Care Act, to the 31st Legislature’s legal counsel, acting upon the over 10,000 voters who supported the measure through a referendum during the 2014 General Election.<\/p>\n
The measure, BR# 15-0063, is “An Act to add a new Chapter 30 to Title 19 of Virgin Islands Code, relative to allowing the medical use of cannabis; to regulate medical cannabis provisioning centers and other related entities; to provide for the powers and duties of The Office of Cannabis Regulation (\u201cOCR\u201d) to allow for the promulgation of rules and regulations of the medical cannabis industry; to provide immunity for persons and entities engaging in activities in compliance with this Act; and amending provisions of the Controlled Substances Act,” according to the measure’s language. The full bill can seen \u00a0here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n Nelson officially introduced the measure during a press conference in May,\u00a0following an expedition to Washington State and Colorado, where the senator and his delegation met with government officials, leaders in the field of medicinal marijuana, and other advocates.<\/p>\n Nelson, along with members of the expedition, including St. Thomas Sen. Tregenza Roach, Dr. Manuel Da Motta, D.O., and others, spoke about their experience, making known that they were now stronger advocates of the drug than before the trip.<\/p>\n \u201cThis trip took me on a spiritual expedition,\u201d Nelson said, \u201cI\u2019m having a spiritual experience, people, and it\u2019s beautiful. Nelson said before embarking on the journey, he thought he was liberal in his thinking, \u201cbut I\u2019ve experienced it at another level. I mean, it\u2019s changing and it\u2019s causing me to recalibrate my position on some issues.\u201d<\/p>\n The six-term senator said the bill would be introduced to the 31st Legislature at the end of May, however it’s only now being submitted to legal counsel. The expedition, he added, was useful in helping draft a better bill \u2014 taking away the good parts of what has worked on the U.S. mainland, while steering clear from what has not.<\/p>\n At one point during his talk, Nelson held up a small canister containing a liquid form of medicinal marijuana.<\/p>\n \u201cShould somebody be locked up for this?\u201d Nelson asked. \u201cThis is cannabis oil, this isn\u2019t smoking weed. This is cannabis oil that\u2019s been proven to work \u2014 made from a plant.\u201d<\/p>\n Nelson said the oil was made by pressing marijuana leaves, and repeatedly asked the question: why should someone be locked up for marijuana oil, when \u201cit\u2019s not something you smoke,\u201d but rather a liquid applied underneath the tongue.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving seen upfront what this does, how can we not?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Sen. Roach, who was only able to make the Colorado leg of the expedition, called the trip a meaningful opportunity, and said he embarked on the experience not as an advocate for medicinal marijuana nor the full legalization of the drug, but because the people of the territory\u00a0voted in favor<\/span><\/a> of creating a medicinal marijuana industry here.<\/p>\n \u201cI do not believe people should ever be afraid of learning,\u201d Roach said. \u201cBecause when I came back, I was even more convinced about the medicinal benefits and the value of medicinal marijuana as an industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Using statistics, Roach said 23 states have already legalized medicinal marijuana; five, including the District of Columbia, have outright legalized the drug,\u00a0and on Tuesday, the Texas House of Representatives passed a measure<\/a><\/span> for full legalization.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, literally, this is not going to turn back,\u201d Roach said.<\/p>\n Roach did, however, point out some federal restrictions that must be looked at when crafting the local legislation.<\/p>\n For example, U.S. banks are not allowed to take monies made from the medicinal marijuana industry because they are members of the\u00a0Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Under federal law, marijuana is treated like every other controlled substance such as cocaine and heroine, according to Americans for Safe Access<\/a><\/span>, an organization created to advance legal medical marijuana.<\/p>\n When asked about the potential problem of having thousands of dollars being stored in the homes of business owners in the territory because the banks are forbidden from accepting money from the industry, Nelson said people with money usually find ways to make things happen.<\/p>\n The senator also encouraged the community to continue being strong advocates of the local medicinal marijuana movement, applauded those who recently picketed<\/a><\/span> Governor Kenneth Mapp at the Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center, and said his office will be hosting some rallies in the near future.<\/p>\n On the expedition, the delegation met with\u00a0a total of 17 private and governmental agencies, 16 facilities ranging from dispensaries\/pharmacies, store fronts, farms, testing labs, extraction labs, and companies that create the machines for the medicinal marijuana industry.<\/p>\n