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OFFICIALS SET MEDICAL MARIJUANA REGULATION PRIORITIES

HARRISBURG - Children with serious medical conditions will have first access to legal medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, possibly as soon as next month, state Health Secretary Karen Murphy said Wednesday.

Murphy, R.N., Ph.D., a Scranton native, outlined the department's plans to write temporary regulations so those children under the age of 18 and their caregivers can obtain medical marijuana in other states where it's legal while Pennsylvania's new medical marijuana law is fully implemented.

The regulations to be issued in July will spell out how they can obtain ID cards so they can purchase marijuana from dispensaries in other states and not run afoul of current Pennsylvania law.

The aim is to bring relief as quickly as possible to children suffering from such conditions as epilepsy and seizures, said Murphy at a press briefing.

"Their day-to-day life is severely challenged," she said.

The medical marijuana law enacted in April after a half-dozen years of legislative debate allows use for patients certified by a doctor with a range of conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, autism, Huntington's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and spinal cord damages.

The law has numerous provisions to control and regulate medical marijuana from the growing stage to its legal use as an oil, pill or liquid.

The regulation involving younger patients and out-ofstate access is just one of a set of regulations being developed during the next 18 months to two years.  Meanwhile, the department plans to hire a medical marijuana program director by July in addition to filling other positions.

"What we are doing is implementing a new industry in Pennsylvania," Murphy said.  "We want to be sure this is a patient-centered program.  It is a very complex process."

She described it as comparable to licensing slots casinos a decade ago.

Another priority is writing temporary regulations so medical marijuana growers and processors can obtain licenses and start to produce products.