In the light of recently proposed marijuana legislation in Iowa, Dr. Christian Thurstone will visit campus to discuss “The Blunt Truth About Medical Marijuana.”

Addressing issues concerning the proposed medicinal marijuana legislation, the lecture will be at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

“Students should attend Dr. Thurstone’s lecture because he will be addressing a very pertinent health issue,” said Megan Johnson, senior in kinesiology and health. “As a student who promotes healthy messages on campus, I’ve encountered quite of a bit of apathy and misconception regarding marijuana use.”

Johnson believes the lecture is an opportunity for students to learn more about the issue and the research done in the area of medical marijuana.

“This is an opportunity for students to learn about the research Dr. Thurstone has done in Colorado as he’s explored the impacts of medicinal marijuana legislation on communities,” Johnson said. “From listening to Dr. Thurstone’s message, students can become well-informed voters on the topic of marijuana legalization and hopefully take action to support their opinions in the future.”

No laws have been passed in Iowa regarding medical marijuana. The proposed bills are keeping the topic in the minds of legislators. There are many differing opinions about this topic which often keeps the bill from being voted on.

“The way it has been explained to me is that there have been eight different pieces of legislation introduced in the Legislature over the years,” said Denise Denton, senior lecturer of kinesiology. “The latest … was very similar to the law that is currently in place in Colorado, except it’s a lot looser.”

Thurstone is a certified child psychiatrist and addiction psychiatrist in Denver. He focuses on what medical marijuana legislation means for youth.

“One of the things that [Thurstone] does is he looks at what happens to a given population before and after a given event,” Denton said. “Medicinal marijuana in Colorado was a pretty significant event.”

Thurstone travels around the country to talk about the effects of the Colorado medical marijuana legislation.

“In Colorado they have had more than their fair share of legal problems because of it,” Denton said. “There have been cities that have passed ordinances to ban dispensaries in their city limits which tells me that it’s not working well.”

Denton hopes Iowa can use Colorado’s legislation as an example and dig deeper into the issue at hand.

“If it’s not working in Colorado well, then I think it behooves us in Iowa to take a better look than just saying ‘oh, other states do it,’” Denton said.

An important question for Ames residents and ISU students to ask themselves is, how might this legislation affect Ames?

“[Students] are going to have families some day, they are going to know someone who is sick someday,” Denton said. “If [medical marijuana] becomes available, if dispensaries do come to Iowa, what kind of community do they want to live in?”

This lecture could change a lot of things across the state of Iowa. Including individuals’ options for treatments.

“It is important because if it is a law it will fundamentally change the way some people go about self medicating,” Denton said.