Pubdate: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 Source: Tribune-Democrat, The (Johnstown, PA) Copyright: 2013 The Tribune-Democrat Contact: http://www.tribune-democrat.com/editorials/local_story_279131011.html Website: http://www.tribune-democrat.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4063 Author: John Finnerty, CNHI MEDICAL MARIJUANA LEGISLATION INTRODUCED HARRISBURG - Amy and Jamie Houk and their 5-year-old son, Cameron, are medical refugees. The family is moving from New Castle to Colorado, where they can legally buy medical marijuana to treat Cameron's epilepsy. Twenty states across the country, including Delaware and New Jersey, have legalized some form of medical marijuana. But Colorado is the place to get a special extraction of cannabis that shows promise in the treatment of pediatric epilepsy, Amy Houk said. Medical use of marijuana is illegal in Pennsylvania. But legislation introduced in the Senate on Monday would allow doctors to prescribe the drug, which has been used to treat people suffering glaucoma, asthma, nausea and seizures. The Houks and about 50 others rallied at the Capitol to support the bill, authored by Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County and Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Philadelphia. Without the law, Amy Houk said her family must leave. Amy and Jaime have lived in Lawrence County their entire lives. Jaime works as a chemical mixer for a company that has locations in Colorado, but if he took a similar job there it would mean a substantial pay cut. The family must establish residency in Colorado to qualify for the medical marijuana, and then they can't take the drugs across state lines, so Cameron won't be able to leave the state. The producer harvests twice a year. The family got their application completed in October in order to get Cameron approved in time for the March harvest, Amy Houk said. The drug cocktail now used to help his seizures has left Cameron largely unresponsive. About a half-hour before he is due to take his medication, when the pharmaceuticals start to wear off, his mom notices Cameron start to come out of the fog. "I get this little time with him," Amy Houk said. "He will make eye contact, and I see that little boy again." Even with the drugs, Cameron has frequent seizures. Cameron had two grand mal seizures while his mom held him during Monday's rally. His parents hope the medical cannabis an extract mixed with olive oil and given by dropper - will ease his seizures without the side effects of the pharmaceuticals. "There are kids that were catatonic, that were on feeding tubes" who have improved dramatically using medical marijuana, Amy Houk said. It's the kind of success that a young girl named Charlotte Figi experienced. Her mother, Paige Figi, came to Harrisburg on Monday to join the rally. She was accompanied by Josh Stanley, who leads a non-profit that manufactures the cannabis extract used to treat children with seizure disorders. Charlotte went from having 300 seizures a week to three a week. While the parents clamor for quick action, there is little consensus that the research is clear enough to warrant immediate policy changes. Pennsylvania Medical Society spokesman Charles Moran said the organization has put off taking a position on medical marijuana, relying instead on the stance of the American Medical Association. The national doctors' group has called for more research. Attorney General Kathleen Kane opposes any effort to make marijuana legal for recreational use, but is taking a wait-and-see approach on medical marijuana, her spokesman Joe Peters said. The Pennsylvania State Association of Nurses has also called for more research, but the organization has publicly stated that medical marijuana should be decriminalized for those suffering from glaucoma, asthma, seizures and nausea. Gov. Tom Corbett's office has said he will veto any marijuana legalization bill, even if it were limited to medical uses. The Associated Press reported the governor's opposition stems from the perception that marijuana is a "gateway drug that leads users to more dangerous ones. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom