Medical Marijuana Supporters Protest Proposed Bills

Medical marijuana supporters rallied at the state Capitol and raised concerns over several bills that have been filed by lawmakers.

"They are making attacks every single session,” medical marijuana supporter Darrell Carnes said Thursday. “Every time we turn around, there's something different.”

They said there are 30 bills this legislative session causing them concern, including bills that would ban medical marijuana billboards, quadruple the licensing fee and prohibit dispensaries within a 1,000 feet of a church.

“The people that are in seats, that are in positions of power, it’s that they are not listening to their constituents,” Carnes said. “It’s that they are making decisions on personal belief or how they were raised and that’s not what this is about. This is about what people believe now.”

Dottie Quinn-Vaugh said she and her husband planned on becoming growers as a retirement job.

“The regulations are almost to the point, that it’s just impossible to do,” she said. “When we first started, the regulation was one thing. We met those regulations, then we are told, 'Welp, no, now we’ve got to do this.'”

Quinn-Vaugh said a year and a half later, they still aren’t yet open for business.

After the rally in front of the Capitol, the group heard from lawmakers inside and met with legislators proposing laws they oppose.