Pubdate: Sun, 03 Aug 2014
Source: Daily Local, The (PA)
Copyright: 2014 Daily Local News - a Journal Register Property
Contact:  http://www.dailylocal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4704
Page: A11

PUSH FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA APPROVAL MAKES HEADWAY IN PA.

Is medical marijuana (or perhaps even Colorado-style legalization) 
"the next gay marriage"?

Probably. The idea of allowing equal marriage rights for same-sex 
couples was resisted for decades- actually centuries. But advocates 
persisted, attitudes changed and eventually legalization of gay 
marriage became inevitable.

Even socially conservative Pennsylvania now allows same-sex marriage- 
though, sadly, by court order rather than by legislative enlightenment.

Legalization of marijuana- at least for medical purposes-is on a 
similar fast track. Proof? Earlier this year, Gov. Tom Corbett gave 
Pennsylvanians a case of political whiplash on the issue (is that 
treatable with medical marijuana?). In April, he said he wouldn't 
sign off on prescription pot even if his own grandson had 
uncontrollable seizures and doctors said medical marijuana was the 
only thing that could help. The next month, he came out in favor of 
allowing a marijuana extract called cannabidiol that has been used to 
treat epileptic seizures in children. More proof? Last week, 
rock-ribbed conservative U.S. Rep. Scott Perry held a news conference 
to unveil the "Charlotte's Web Medical Hemp Act of 2014."

The bill, named after Charlotte Figi of Colorado, who was 
successfully treated with a hemp extract, would exclude therapeutic 
hemp and cannabidiol from the federal definition of illegal marijuana.

Attending the event was Anna Knecht, 11, of Mechanicsburg, whose 
parents said they pray each night before bedtime that she will wake 
up the next morning. Anna suffers from Dravet syndrome, a form of 
epilepsy that causes frequent seizures.

Perry, a Republican, was touched by the plight of Anna and the many 
youngsters who suffer from epilepsy. He said when you research the 
issue, it becomes obvious that cannabidiol should be allowed for such 
treatments. "Once you educate and understand the treatment 
possibilities-you have to get past the stigma of what this isn't."

Indeed, cannabidiol isn't something Cheech and Chong would have much 
interest in because it's not intoxicating.

But under federal law it's illegal because it comes from pot plants.

It's obvious this treatment should be made easily available 
nationally- and it is astonishing that legislators are still 
dithering over the question.

Kudos to Rep. Perry for stepping pushing this issue forward-even if 
his bill is extremely narrow in scope.

A better approach to medical marijuana comes from conservative state 
Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon. His Senate Bill 1182, the Compassionate 
Use of Medical Cannabis Act, would allow a much wider array of 
treatments using medical marijuana-including for cancer patients such 
as Sen. Folmer has been.

Rep. Perry's bill, if successful, would at least clear one stumbling 
block to hemp-based treatment by removing the threat of federal intervention.

These are all positive developments. The medical marijuana 
legalization train is gaining momentum nationally and locally.

Does that mean legalization of recreational marijuana is on the same 
track? Possibly. State Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Delaware, has advocated 
strongly for general legalization, noting the public favors ending 
such prohibition and that legalization, like gay marriage, seems 
inevitable. In a recent guest column, he recounts his recent trip to 
Colorado to investigate the legalized marijuana scene there and to 
sample a marijuana vape pen (a trip that was paid for, questionably, 
with tax dollars). He describes life in posta POT calyptic Denver as 
orderly and prosperous-not at all like some "Reefer Madness" hell.

Whether or not Pennsylvania will become the Colorado of the East 
remains to be seen. But there is no doubt that this drug should 
quickly be OK'd for medical treatments well beyond those in the 
narrow scope of Rep. Perry's bill.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom