Pubdate: Sun, 12 Apr 2015
Source: Standard-Speaker (Hazleton, PA)
Copyright: 2015 The Standard-Speaker
Contact:  http://www.standardspeaker.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1085
Author: Robert Swift

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ISSUE IS SCRAMBLING PARTY LINES

HARRISBURG -- A lawmaker from Tioga County has a key role in the 
ongoing debate over legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.

Rep. Matt Baker, R-68 Wellsboro, chairman of the House Health 
Committee, is openly skeptical about legalizing what he considers a 
dangerous drug without action first from the federal Food and Drug 
Administration.

He made his concerns known last week during a joint hearing of the 
Health and Judiciary committees.

"I don't think the jury is in yet -- that marijuana is safe or 
effective," said Baker, referring to numerous medical studies he has read.

He thinks a better route to go is for state lawmakers to pass a 
resolution urging Washington to allow scientific research and 
development of marijuana for medical use.

The FDA classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug having no 
medical value puts a damper on research, said Baker. That could be 
solved with an FDA waiver to allow test trials of marijuana's medical 
potential, he added.

Baker is firmly on one side of an issue that has scrambled party 
lines in Harrisburg.

Rep. Aaron Kaufer, R-120, Kingston, offered a different view at the hearing.

He related the experience of a constituent who travels to California 
to get treatment with medical marijuana legally.

Kaufer said the determination on using medical marijuana should be 
between a patient and their doctor. "It's a patient rights issue," he added.

House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-62, Indiana, said he anticipates a 
floor vote soon on a medical marijuana bill that helps those in need 
under a tightly regulated framework.

"I think there is widespread support for the concept, but folks are 
going to want to know the details," he added.

The debate has been shaped by the personal advocacy of parents of 
children suffering from repeated seizures who found relief from use 
of cannabis. Opponents question what legal access to marijuana -- 
even on a restricted basis -- would mean to the widespread abuse of 
prescription painkillers and heroin and the impact on crime.

A medical marijuana bill cleared the Republican-controlled Senate 
last session by a strong bipartisan vote of 43-7. The main sponsors 
of medical marijuana legislation in that chamber are Sens. Mike 
Folmer, R-48, Lebanon, and Daylin Leach, D-17, King of Prussia.

Lawmakers will need to strengthen the drug and alcohol treatment 
system if they legalize medical marijuana, said Deb Beck, president 
of the Drug & Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania.

"If you are going to do this, we are going to have more business," she said.

She recommended restoring funding to offset a decade of cuts to 
county-based drug and alcohol treatment programs and reviving 
programs to help students with student substance abuse problems. 
These programs withered with the loss of federal aid for drug-free 
schools, she added.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom