GOP Congresswoman Says Medical Marijuana Helped Her Aunt Deal With Cancer Symptoms

A GOP congresswoman says that while she’s concerned about “free-for-alls” with marijuana laws, she understands the importance of having a “robust” medical program—a position partly informed by her own aunt’s experience using cannabis to treat symptoms of cancer.

At a town hall event in Iowa on Wednesday, a constituent who identified as a Democrat spoke to Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) about the issue, while describing her personal friendship with a Republican, which she said has kept their relationship “exciting, to say the least.”

The woman added that she would like to see more Democrats elected so that “people like myself could use the marijuana for my paralyzed legs and my whole body to make it feel better.”

Hinson sympathized with the attendee, saying it’s “important” to maintain friendships and have have political conversations in a “civilized manner” despite disagreements, including around cannabis policy.

“I think what’s really important around the conversation around medical marijuana is making sure that it’s for medical use,” she said. “Iowa does have a program. I know we worked on it when I was in the state legislature. I think there have been some changes to it since I last reviewed that policy and looked at it.”

“My concern with free-for-alls around marijuana are that there are no tests right now for sobriety—for marijuana, unlike alcohol—where if you get in a car and you hurt or kill someone while you’re driving drunk, you can immediately be tested for how intoxicated you are as of right now,” the congresswoman said. “I don’t think there is the same test for marijuana, which I think could be helpful in making sure law enforcement could properly assess whether somebody did break the law or not.”

She went on to say, however, that she finds it important to “have a robust medical marijuana program, which we do here in Iowa.” And she shared a personal anecdote about why she holds that policy position.

“My own aunt had multiple myeloma. It’s been several years ago since she passed away, but she also took medical marijuana because she had that cancer, and it was the thing that allowed her to be able to eat and stay alive long enough to fight as long as she did,” Hinson said. “She lived 16 years with multiple myeloma— blood cancer—so I understand how important having that access to something that can make you feel better is and will happily, happily take a look at it as long as we can make sure the science backs it up on the legal arguments.”

In Congress, Hinson voted against a marijuana legalization bill but supported a separate measure aimed at making it easier to study cannabis. She also voted for a bill to increase marijuana businesses’s access to banks.

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Iowa’s medical cannabis program is relatively restrictive, preventing patients from buying marijuana flower and prohibiting home cultivation. But the law as revised in recent years is more expansive than what was initially enacted in 2014, and lawmakers introduced a bill this session that would allow for up to double the number of dispensaries operating in the state.

The legislature has continued to resist calls to legalize marijuana for adult use, however. And the state has faced lawsuits from industry stakeholders over a law enacted last year that restricts hemp-derived THC beverages.

Meanwhile, the Iowa House last month passed a bill to legalize the therapeutic use of psilocybin for patients with certain mental health conditions.

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