LOUISVILLE, Ky.- Veterans in Louisville are preparing to voice their passionate opinions for legalizing medical marijuana to state lawmakers once again. A committee in the House of Representatives is set to discuss House Bill 136, to legalize marijuana for medical use, this week. If passed, people with certain qualifying conditions listed in the legislation would be able to smoke pot as medicine. Those pushing for legalization are adamant that it helps relieve pain and anxiety, among other things. However, there are medical professionals with reservations, that would like more research to be done before marijuana is recommended as medicine. 

In a new poll from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, 90% of Kentucky adults believe medical marijuana should be legal. Veterans like Brent Goss and James McKee hope this new poll can sway more lawmakers to pass the bill. They've both testified in support of such a measure before. 

Goss and McKee have much in common; over lunch on Saturday, the two shared similar stories of how they sustained injuries while serving in the military. Goss has had countless surgeries and medical ailments, like a cracked and fractured spine for example. McKee's injuries include damage to the knee which had to be replaced. Both men say they've tried smoking marijuana as a pain reliever, and it's worked better than the many types of pills doctors have prescribed them over the years. 

"I don't want to take these medications. They throw medications at you, you start having side effects and the next thing you know you're taking more medication because they have to give you another pill to take for the side effects," says McKee. He explains that, rather than stop the pain, smoking takes his mind off it. 

There are already certain parts of the marijuana plant that people can use to treat various ailments, legally. CBD oils and edibles are popular among Kentuckians. They lack the THC chemical component of marijuana that people would be able to get from smoking pot. Goss says he's tried them, but they aren't strong enough. 

"Eating edibles takes longer for it to get into your bloodstream. I can light that and take two or three hits off it and feel relief instantaneously," Goss says. 

Dr. James Murphy, a pain and addiction specialist and clinical professor at the University of Louisville, backs that up. He says smoking marijuana puts its chemicals right into the lungs and thus into the heart, bloodstream and brain very quickly. Murphy claims it's dangerous, and does not recommend marijuana for medical use. He says the term itself 'medical marijuana' is a misnomer. 

"It does have some medicinal properties. There are definitely chemicals in parts of the marijuana plant that are very beneficial. There are also parts that are detrimental and harmful," says Murphy. 

He says it is addictive because highs come quickly and can end quickly, and require more of the drug to achieve the high with each use. Murphy, the pain expert who prescribes opiates to patients for pain management, does admit that becoming addicted to marijuana may not be as bad as becoming addicted to opioids; he explains, a marijuana overdose would not stop a person's breathing and be deadly as an opioid overdose could. 

However, he says marijuana addiction can cause psychosis, paranoia, schizophrenia, and other things. For all these reasons, he won't recommend its use. He does feel that it should not be ranked on the same level of illicit drug as heroin, and that its use should be decriminalized. 

"I think if somebody is really trying to take something to help themselves, it shouldn't be a criminal activity. It should be regulated, controlled, and studied," Murphy says. 

Goss and McKee want the option, the choice to medicate with marijuana. "Pass it. Don't make us suffer, give us the option," McKee says, "some of us veterans, we went to war, we put our life on the line. That was a conscious decision we made. So, allow us to make this conscious decision to how we want to medicate ourselves."

That's why they're advocating for House Bill 136 to pass, and plan to attend the committee meeting where it will be debated in Frankfort this week.