Taken from Pittsburgh Norml: The state Senate took another step toward the legalization of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, passing controversial legislation and setting the stage for debate in the state House. The legislation, Senate Bill 1182, was originally introduced by State Sens. Daylin Leach (D-MontCo) and Mike Folmer (R-Lancaster) in 2013. It passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, then came up in the full Senate a day later, leading to several emotional speeches from the floor. “What kind of message are we sending our kids?” asked Sen. Pat Vance (R-Cumberland), an opponent of the bill. Vance advocated that until the Centers for Disease Control, among other professional and governmental organizations, approve of medical marijuana, Pennsylvania should not. State Sen. Anthony Williams noted that he actually changed his mind on this legislation. He was originally against it, but came around after realizing medical cannabis could help families both in Philadelphia and around the state. “[The legislature is] caught in an ideological conservative vs. liberal conversation,” he said. “We are not serving these families that are suffering.” The bill’s most highlighted focus was helping treat PTSD and epilepsy in children. The bill eventually passed the Senate with an overwhelming majority but failed to gain the full support of several medical marijuana advocates. Why? Because on Tuesday, numerous ailments—including HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, rheumatoid arthritis, and Chron’s disease—were removed from the potential state medical cannabis program this bill would create. Similarly, the sale of whole-plant cannabis, smoking and vaporizing were removed from the bill. Rather, the legislation allows for the sale of edibles and cannabis oil. Advocates say this will hurt some patients. “Legalizing medical cannabis therapy but not for HIV/AIDS is like legalizing gay marriage but not for lesbians,” said Jay Lassiter, a medical marijuana advocate from New Jersey who has been HIV positive for the last 22 years, in a statement. “Pennsylvania’s amended SB1182 is no longer a “medical marijuana” bill but a “limited cannabis products” bill. This is an atrocious, cruel compromise made for political expediency. Sadly this new version will not likely move fast enough for the patients who still qualify should this bill become law.” Chris Goldstein, chair of Philly NORML, points to a study conducted by San Francisco-based Dr. Donald Abrams, which concluded smoked and vaporized marijuana was more affective at treating HIV-related ailments than other forms of intake. “When we think of medical marijuana and medical marijuana laws that work in other states like Colorado, Washington, Michigan and California, they have a concert of delivery methods. It is not limited in the way SB 1182 envisions it,” says Goldstein. “So, this is no longer a medical marijuana bill as voters understand it. It’s been described as a very limited cannabis products bill.” It’s unclear as to whether the bill will also be voted upon by the state House, or if Gov. Corbett would sign it into law. Either way, if both those things happen, Pennsylvania may still be a couple years away from legal medical cannabis.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:23:57 +0000