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U.S. NEWS Tuesday 16 april 2019

Severe storm damage to homes is seen on Plymouth Springmill
Road just south of the intersection of Ohio Route 96 in Shelby,
Ohio, Sunday, April 14, 2019.
Associated Press
Storms leave deaths,

damage and injuries

in their wake

In this April 11, 2019 photo, Shelley Gillen is photographed in her Bellevue, Neb., home with her By The Associated Press fied woman, 78, had been
17-year-old son, Will, who wears a helmet to protect him from damage during debilitating seizures. Strong storms, including at asleep when the tree fell
Gillen advocates the legalization of medical marijuana that could help her son’s seizures. least one tornado, swept at 1:43 a.m. An 82-year-old
Associated Press through parts of the Mid- man who was in the home
Nebraska’s tough approach to west and the Mid-Atlantic was taken to a hospital
region, damaging homes with injuries that were not
medical marijuana may backfire and businesses and caus- life threatening. In Shelby,
ing injuries after storms in Ohio, the National Weath-
the South killed at least er Service said an EF2 tor-
By GRANT SCHULTE but with a threat: Lawmakers could ap- eight people. Storms that nado with winds of up to
Associated Press prove a bill that requires people to get a hit Ohio on Sunday and 125 mph (200 kph) touched
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Year after year, state-issued registry card, limits the poten- moved into New Jersey down Sunday. No deaths
Nebraska’s conservative lawmakers have cy of marijuana, allows its use only for cer- overnight into Monday were reported, but Rich-
rejected measures calling for limited and tain medical conditions and lets patients brought heavy rains, light- land County emergency
highly regulated medical marijuana. have no more than 8 ounces of the drug ning, strong winds and, officials said several homes
They’re poised to do it again, but their de- in their home, or supporters would place a in Ohio, at least one tor- and businesses were dam-
cision this year could have the unintended measure with almost no restrictions on the nado. The storms followed aged and that at least six
consequence of ushering in one of the ballot. worse conditions that had people were injured in the
most unrestricted medical marijuana laws From the experience in other states, there swept across the South , city roughly 90 miles (145
in the country. is general agreement that Nebraska vot- unleashing more than a kilometers) southwest of
If so, Nebraska will join a growing number ers would approve such a ballot measure. dozen confirmed torna- Cleveland. The weather
of conservative states with unusually easy The ballot measure that passed over- does and flooding, killing service says an EF0 torna-
marijuana access, all because red-state whelmingly in Oklahoma allows any doc- at least eight people, in- do with maximum winds
lawmakers refuse to touch the issue and tor to prescribe marijuana for any health juring dozens and flatten- of about 70 mph (115 kph)
thereby make way for ballot initiatives. complaint. ing much of a Texas town. also swept through part of
Last year, Oklahoma became a vivid ex- Nebraska state Sen. Anna Wishart, who In Virginia, about an hour Clark County in western
ample. Billboards there now display a smil- sponsored the legislative bill, said she’s south of Washington, au- Ohio on Sunday, about 40
ing white-coated doctor offering same- trying to find a compromise with skeptical thorities said a tree fell on a miles (65 kilometers) west of
day service for marijuana prescriptions. lawmakers but gives her measure less than house and killed a woman Columbus, and damaged
Idaho, Wyoming, and Mississippi may face a 30 percent chance of passing. early Monday morning. The some mobile homes. There
marijuana ballot initiatives soon after leg- Opponents, including Republican Gov. Stafford County Sheriff’s were no immediate reports
islators rejected medical marijuana with Pete Ricketts, say they want nothing to do Office said the unidenti- of injuries there.q
tight controls. with marijuana, even if the result is dispen-
Meanwhile, 18 other states, including more saries opening everywhere selling to any-
liberal Illinois, New York and Vermont, have one claiming a minor ailment.
legislated restrictions that make legal mar- “It’s not my job to make a decision that
ijuana harder to get. I think compromises public safety in the
“It’s a head-scratcher,” said Bryan Bo- state just because of the threat of a ballot
ganowski, founder of the pro-marijuana initiative,” said state Sen. Matt Williams, a
group NORML in Omaha, about the Ne- leading opponent of the bill.
braska Legislature’s position. “I have no Williams said he was willing to legalize can-
idea what’s going on down in Lincoln.” nabidiol, or CBD, a chemical compound
Since 2010, legislators have rejected medi- in marijuana, but not parts of the plant
cal marijuana bills three times, even mea- that cause users to get high. But he said
sures that allowed only low levels of the Wishart and legalization advocates are
drug’s active ingredient and restricted it “completely unwilling to discuss that.”
to creams and oils with a ban on smok- Wishart said some patients need the whole
ing. They refused to approve programs as plant because the oil alone doesn’t help
neighboring states took action, ranging their medical condition.
from legalizing recreational marijuana in Another opponent, state Sen. Curt Friesen,
Colorado to approving highly limited ac- said he’s uncomfortable legalizing a drug
cess in Iowa. that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Nebraska advocates tried again this year, hasn’t approved.q