Pot or Not? Minnesota and the Legalization of Medical Marijuana

On Wednesday, April 10, 2013, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., the Minnesota State Bar Association's Food & Drug Law Section will be hosting a free CLE:  "Pot or Not? Minnesota and the Legalization of Medical Marijuana."

Medical marijuana, a controlled substance, is illegal under federal law in the United States.  Possession and distribution is illegal.  Medical marijuana is not approved by the FDA.  Yet, states like California started governing its use as far back as 1996.  Currently, eighteen states approve or regulate its use for medicinal purposes.  Other states, like Maryland, ban its use, but have other policies in place which seem to favor use.  FDA has approved investigational studies of medical marijuana. What is going on here?  Is this politics?  Bad law?  Where is Minnesota in all of this?

This program, sponsored by the MSBA Food, Drug, & Device Law Section and the William Mitchell Health Law Society, will address these questions and the pros and cons of medical marijuana legalization in Minnesota.  Presenters include a physician, a law professor, a criminal defense attorney and a Minnesota State Representative.  They will consider the legal and human aspects related to the use of medical marijuana. 

Program Topics:

• A constitutional review (Gonzalez v Raich) and federalism considerations (Jonathan Kahn, Ph.D., J.D.)


• Criminal defense issues related to the use of medical marijuana (Ryan Pacyga, J.D.)


• Treatment of patients in a state with medical marijuana (Louis Saeger, M.D.) and


• Current medical marijuana legalization attempts in Minnesota (Representative Phyllis Kahn Ph.D., M.P.A.)

Following their presentations, the speakers will participate in a panel discussion regarding of the implications of what medical marijuana legalization could mean for attorneys in Minnesota. Bring your questions!

Speakers:

Dr. Jonathan Kahn, Ph.D., J.D., Professor, Hamline University Law School

Dr. Louis Saeger, M.D., F.A.C.P.M., Interventional Pain Specialist, Midwest Spine Institute

Representative Phyllis Kahn, Ph.D., M.P.A., Minnesota Representative

Ryan Pacyga, Criminal Defense Attorney