UPPER MERION - Passage of legislation that legalized medical marijuana in Pennsylvania marked the end of seven long, hard years of negotiation. Now that Gov. Tom Wolf has signed the measure into law, the push is on to explain the ramifications, including possible business opportunities tied to the medical marijuana field. Wolf, who had adamantly backed the bill through approval by both the House and Senate, swiftly added his signature, which made the bill law. That kicked off the long process of working within the boundaries that the Commonwealth agreed upon to bring cannabis to medical patients. Doctors will need to be certified; growers and processors will need to establish a business model; and licenses for 150 dispensaries will be issued in the next year. [continues 490 words]
Across the United States, heroin users have died in alleys behind convenience stores, on city sidewalks and in the bathrooms of fast-food joints - because no one was around to save them when they overdosed. An alarming 47,000 American overdose deaths in 2014 - 60 percent from heroin and related painkillers like fentanyl - has pushed elected leaders from coast to coast to consider what was once unthinkable: government-sanctioned sites where users can shoot up under the supervision of a doctor or nurse who can administer an antidote if necessary. [continues 1392 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Rolland Gregg and his family have fought federal marijuana charges for more than three years, arguing that the roughly 70 marijuana plants investigators found on their Washington property were for their own medicinal use and fully complied with state law. A federal jury last year convicted Gregg, his mother and his wife of growing 50 to 100 marijuana plants - amounts their attorney said are in compliance with state medical marijuana law. With prison sentences looming, they have now turned to a recent act of Congress that they say should have stopped the U.S. Department of Justice from prosecuting them because they were doing what their state allowed. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, and the DOJ disagrees with Gregg's understanding of the new law. [continues 776 words]
Well. finally. State lawmakers have passed and Gov. Tom Wolf said he will sign legislation allowing usage of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. That only took . what, 20 years? California became the first state to allow medical marijuana way back in 1996. Sen Daylin Leach, D-Delaware County, has introduced medical marijuana legislation every session since 2009. Sen. Mike Folmer, R-parts of northeastern York County, has pushed for this compassionate treatment - on behalf of his "Momma Bears," parents of kids suffering from epilepsy and other ailments - for many years. [continues 515 words]
Sharon Johnson calls herself an addict, although she's been sober for three years now. She started by smoking pot and eventually moved to crack cocaine. Her daughter has tried heroin and "I believe I'm going to pull her out of the gutter someday," Johnson laments. Johnson has seen firsthand the ravages of drug abuse reflected in anational AssociatedPress-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. Whether it's alcohol or illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine, a majority of Americans say it's a problem and that more needs to be done to address it. [continues 564 words]
WORCESTER - The passage of a medical marijuana bill this week by the state House has given hope to a Worcester mother who treats her 12-year-old son for daily seizures. "Ryan was 9 months old when he was diagnosed with infantile spasms. The doctors call it intractable epilepsy now that he is older," said Erin McCann. "He has seizures that include head drops of 20 to 40 times over 15 minutes. He has two (seizure) clusters a day from this condition." [continues 572 words]
HARRISBURG, PA. (AP) - The Pennsylvania House of Representatives took up a proposal Monday to permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes, a potential breakthrough for supporters who have worked for several years to get legalization through the Republican-controlled Legislature. The debate began with passage of an elaborate amendment, crafted by a bipartisan task force, laying out rules for how the program would work, including eligibility and regulations. It was approved by a 152-38 vote, but the measure still requires a final House vote. [continues 346 words]
Andrew Follett Introduces 'Cannagenix' Line of Hemp Foods With Plans to Grow His Own "My end goal in this journey is to have large acreage of a variety of hemp strains tailored to specific industry, and a processing plant capable of a broad spectrum of product-specific processing." - Andrew Follett, owner of Follett Health Solutions LLC Andrew Follett is like many entrepreneurs in the area: young, energetic, with a burning desire to talk about his newest venture. But unlike those who have created the latest app or video game, Follett has a public relations hurdle to clear before his startup can become a success. [continues 712 words]
Carol Johnson* of North Philadelphia, 87, carefully saved $2,000 from her pension checks, storing the money in an upstairs bedroom. But in a matter of minutes, it was gone - taken by law enforcement after Carol's husband Kevin* was found with two marijuana joints in their home. Carol was never charged with a crime, but it didn't matter. Under Pennsylvania's civil asset forfeiture laws, cash, cars and even homes can be forfeited without a hearing on the evidence, without due process, without justice. [continues 583 words]
HARRISBURG - Retired Maj. Neill Franklin oversaw more than a dozen drug task forces that used civil asset forfeiture laws to seize millions in property. But by the late 1990s even Franklin, who worked for the Maryland State Police, began to think something was wrong with the system. Franklin was reviewing paperwork from a case on the Eastern Shore. Police had seized a man's car, and it was suspected the car was used in drug deals. But the owner was never charged with a crime. [continues 1081 words]
The history of hemp's black-sheep cousin marijuana leads to hysteria when the plant is mentioned in the same breath with legalization. That is based on ignorance. It's time to give farmers the option of growing this valuable cash crop. You could say that the roots of this nation's agricultural heritage were those of hemp plants. In 1619, King James I decreed that every colonist in the New World had to grow 10 hemp plants for export to England. George Washington grew hemp at Mount Vernon. [continues 534 words]
While heroin continues to claim lives at an alarming rate, officials said prescription drugs now cause more deaths than all illegal street drugs combined. The war on drugs may be best known for the law enforcement's fight against the illegal drug trade, but these days another battle is waging against the rising death toll caused by fatal overdoses. Local law enforcement officials continue to raise the alarm about the constant loss of life that has struck communities across the country, including Chester County. Last year at least 52 people died in an accidental manner caused by drug use, according to statistics from the Chester County Coroner's Office. [continues 1276 words]
All the Pundits Have Been Busily Clucking About What a Rocky Road Lies Ahead for New Gov. Tom Wolf. They're right, of course. The state's financial situation is dire - and both Republicans and Democrats are playing the blame game. The new governor is sure to find himself at odds with an even more solidly Republican Legislature (thanks to gerrymandering). Inequitable school funding is a huge problem across the state. Small cities such as York are imploding into insolvency. Hey Mr. Wolf, remind us again why you wanted this impossible job. Yeah, it's going to be tough. So why not start with something easy? [continues 378 words]
Rick Steves smokes the occasional joint, but he's not arguing for marijuana legalization in Oregon just because he likes to get high. Steves, a nationally known guidebook author and host on public radio and television, said Tuesday he's convinced that marijuana prohibition in the U.S. operates solely to harm the poor and people of color, and to profit off their punishment. "It's not guys like me, rich white guys, who need it," Steves said Tuesday at a downtown Portland hotel. "It's the people who are arrested and cited, who are poor." [continues 305 words]
This past week, I and three members of my legislative staff flew to Denver, Colorado, to see for ourselves what the complete legalization of cannabis looks like. Given the polls, what other states are doing, and the arc of history, it seems difficult to deny that legal cannabis is coming to Pennsylvania fairly soon. We wanted to make sure we understood how it works and what Colorado did right, and wrong, in an effort to ensure we do this the right way when the time comes. [continues 685 words]
Is medical marijuana (or perhaps even Colorado-style legalization) "the next gay marriage"? 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. Legalization of marijuana - at least for medical purposes - is on a similar fast track. Gov. Tom Corbett said earlier this year he was in favor of allowing a marijuana extract called cannabidiol that has been used to treat epileptic seizures in children. [continues 451 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - A Pennsylvania state senator admitted he used marijuana during a recent taxpayer-funded trip to Colorado to observe the state's legal marijuana industry in action. Sen. Daylin Leach, a leading proponent of legalized marijuana in the Legislature, said he took two hits from a vape pen, similar to an e-cigarette, at his hotel. The device vaporizes a form of marijuana and is smokeless. Leach said it was a gift from a facility he and aides toured during the trip, which cost nearly $5,000. [continues 204 words]
DENVER (AP) - Colorado is smoking pot by the ton, and visitors are, too. Colorado's pot regulators issued what is believed to be the world's first post-legalization market study for the weed on Wednesday. The study relied on sales data from Colorado's first three months of recreational marijuana sales, while previous pot market studies relied on survey responses because the drug is illegal. "This study finds total marijuana demand to be much larger than previously estimated," Colorado's study concluded. [continues 426 words]
If the police stop you in Pennsylvania, they don't need a warrant to search your car. And soon, you could be in trouble even if they find nothing. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that police are allowed to search vehicles without a warrant. The state General Assembly, meanwhile, is moving forward with a bill that would give cops the authority to arrest people caught with "secret compartments" in their vehicles, even if there is nothing illegal in those suspicious containers. [continues 919 words]
The heroin epidemic ravaging the nation is tied closely to the availability of powerful, legal prescription painkillers classified as opioids. People become addicted to the painkillers but switch to heroin, which generally is cheaper and easier to obtain. Such abuse of legal drugs is illegal and regrettable. But it should not, and does not, prevent medical professionals from prescribing the legal drugs for people who need them. And then, there is marijuana. Pot is a curious case because its provenance in the culture is as a "recreational" drug. Yet marijuana has been shown to have therapeutic effects, including pain relief, nausea suppression and appetite stimulation. And now, an oil derived from marijuana has shown promise as a treatment for a seizure disorder that affects young children. [continues 196 words]
