Requests Decriminalization of Small Amount of Marijuana A former Pottsville native Monday asked the city council to pass an ordinance to allow residents to possess "a small amount" of marijuana, "30 grams or less." "I am here tonight to request that the city adopt a progressive and rational ordinance regarding the decriminalization of marijuana, allowing possession of a small amount of marijuana in the city," Vincenzo "Vince" Mercuri, the founder of Marijuana Farmers University, based in California, said at City Hall. [continues 810 words]
Nixon's Drug Assault Hurt Blacks and Dissidents Did Richard Nixon create the war on drugs as a political tool to attack African-Americans and dissidents? A Nixon aide claimed as much, and it would not be surprising. Mr. Nixon's paranoia was well known, even before he left office in disgrace in 1974. He divided the world between friends and enemies. Blacks and left-wing war protesters were clearly in the latter camp. An article about the war on drugs in this month's Harper's magazine cites a 1994 interview the writer conducted with John Ehrlichman, the former Nixon domestic policy chief, who characterized the administration's policies as an intentional assault on people. "By getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin ... and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities," said Mr. Ehrlichman, who died in 1999. [continues 216 words]
The biggest news in Pennsylvania involving marijuana is the new law authorizing its use as medicine, which was long overdue. But a bill also is pending in the Legislature that would authorize something involving the plant that is even more overdue. It would allow farmers to grow industrial hemp. The plant is a form of marijuana that does not contain THC, the chemical that makes pot either high-inducing or therapeutic. But hemp is incredibly versatile otherwise. Around the world, it is grown in more than 30 countries and used in more than 25,000 products. According to the Congressional Research Service, the United States imported about $600 million worth of hemp in 2013. [continues 117 words]
Editor: I read with disbelief the March 25 article, "Cops: Teacher smoking pot at St. Pat's parade." I had to reread it. On a day when the beer taps are open from early morning hours and revelers of various states of inebriation are in the streets, the police arrested a Pittston Area teacher and her friend for smoking marijuana at a picnic table away from the crowd. She was not only arrested, she was suspended by the Pittston Area School Board. The suspect, Tia Biscotti, was engaged in an activity that is illegal in Pennsylvania, but legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia. It did not occur while she was teaching and she was not on school property. [continues 125 words]
NEW BLOOMFIELD - State Senate candidate John DiSanto on Monday night trashed the decades long "war on drugs" and said he supported legalizing marijuana for recreational use. John DiSanto says he supports legalizing marijuana John DiSanto, a GOP candidate running for the 15th state Senate District nomination, talks about supporting legalizing marijuana for recreational use following a March 28, 2016 debate. DiSanto, a Republican running for the 15th state Senate District nomination, disputed that marijuana was a gateway drug and said that the federal government's "war on drugs" only has exacerbated the problem. [continues 357 words]
A recent Inquirer article described the high cost of medical marijuana in New Jersey ("New Jersey's medical marijuana prices could be nation's highest," March 18). The average cost of $489 an ounce is indeed exorbitant, denying poor patients a means of treating pain, nausea, and insomnia - just a few of marijuana's remarkable qualities. As a Stage 4 pancreatic cancer survivor, I can attest to these benefits personally. Moreover, New Jersey's marijuana dispensaries charge a $200 fee for every patient and caregiver. No dispensary accepts credit card payments, so patients are forced to carry large sums of cash, making this a crime waiting to happen to the most sick and vulnerable. And there are limited numbers of authorized doctors and dispensaries in the state, which makes obtaining treatment more difficult, especially for the poor. All in all, New Jersey's medical marijuana program is falling very short of meeting the needs of all its citizens, rich and poor. Saul Lichtine, Voorhees [end]
I would like to applaud the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for its recent vote approving the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes ("Pa. House votes to legalize medical marijuana," March 17). The bill had languished in committee in previous sessions primarily due to a small but powerful minority that opposed this source of potential relief for thousands of Pennsylvanians in need. When finally allowed to come up for a vote, the bill passed by an overwhelming majority, 149-43, which closely matches the results of a recent Quinnipiac University poll of Pennsylvania residents on the medical marijuana issue. It was refreshing to see the will of the people carried out by our elected officials. This vote truly demonstrated democracy in action. Jeffrey Fogel, M.D., Ambler, docfog4308@yahoo.com [end]
HARRISBURG (AP) - Some key Senate backers of medical marijuana legalization are expressing concern about a marijuana bill passed by the House last week, raising the possibility of a delay in getting the drug into the hands of Pennsylvania patients suffering from conditions such as cancer and epilepsy. Senate staff and lawyers found what they say are numerous flaws in the legislation passed by the House last week. Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, who sponsored the initial bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate last year, might press for changes and another vote by both chambers instead of agreeing to the House version and sending it to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. [continues 108 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - Some key Senate backers of medical marijuana legalization are expressing concern about a marijuana bill passed by the House last week, raising the possibility of a delay in getting the drug into the hands of Pennsylvania patients suffering from conditions like cancer and epilepsy. Senate staff and lawyers found what they say are numerous flaws in the legislation passed by the House last week. Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, who sponsored the initial bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate last year, might press for changes and another vote by both chambers instead of agreeing to the House version and sending it to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. [continues 341 words]
Senate Republicans say the House passed a bill so altered that it might need reworking, further delaying its trip to Wolf's desk. A week after the Pennsylvania House of Representatives took a long-awaited vote to legalize medical marijuana, key backers are worried that the law's implementation could be slowed or even derailed by last-minute changes to the measure. Senate Republicans say that the 154-page legislation passed by the House was a gutted and heavily revised version of their original 69-page bill, and that some of the changes could be so problematic that they could unnecessarily delay getting medical marijuana into patients' hands. [continues 630 words]
Amid a long and dispiriting budget battle, Republican state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf found common ground last week on an important bill to expand the arsenal of safe drugs used to combat pain. The House passed a bill to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, 149- 43. In the process, representatives rejected a series of poison-pill amendments by misguided law-and-order advocates that would have made the bill impossible to implement in practice. Sen. Mike Folmer, a conservative Republican from Lebanon who helped shepherd a similar bill to passage in the Senate last year, expected that the House and Senate bills will be reconciled and sent to Wolf, who plans to sign it. [continues 155 words]
While Pennsylvania is closer than ever to making medical marijuana available for patients who need it, some hurdles remain along with important answers to significant questions. It's been two decades since California became the first state to allow for medicinal use of marijuana and cannabis. Since then, 23 states - along with Guam and Washington, D.C., have enacted similar legislation. Pennsylvania seems poised to join that list. In one context, it is about time. Enough studies have been done across the nation to justify appropriately managed and maintained medical uses for the drug in various forms. In another vein, opponents argue the state is bypassing the Food and Drug Administration. [continues 236 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 nine 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 575 words]
Amid a long and dispiriting budget battle, Republican state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf found common ground last week on an important bill to expand the arsenal of safe drugs used to combat pain. The House passed a bill to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, 149-43. In the process, representatives rejected a series of poison-pill amendments by misguided law-and-order advocates that would have made the bill impossible to implement in practice. Sen. Mike Folmer, a conservative Republican from Lebanon who helped shepherd a similar bill to passage in the Senate last year, expected that the House and Senate bills will be reconciled and sent to Mr. Wolf, who plans to sign it. [continues 155 words]
Amid a long and dispiriting budget battle, Republican state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf found common ground last week on an important bill to expand the arsenal of safe drugs used to combat pain. The House passed a bill to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, 149-43. In the process, representatives rejected a series of poison-pill amendments by misguided law-and-order advocates that would have made the bill impossible to implement in practice. Sen. Mike Folmer, a conservative Republican from Lebanon who helped shepherd a similar bill to passage in the Senate last year, expected that the House and Senate bills to be reconciled and sent to Wolf, who plans to sign it. [continues 155 words]
Editor: Another reason to allow sick citizens to use cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned (Pennsylvania lawmakers start debating bill to permit the use of medical marijuana, Mar. 15), is because it is Biblically correct since God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page of the Bible. The only Biblical restriction to using cannabis is to use it with thankfulness (1 Tim. 4:1-5). Many people know of cannabis as the tree of life and the very last page of the Bible indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. A sane or moral argument to cage sick people who use cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillion, Colorado [end]
Proponents Say Potential Ordinance Would Refocus Police Resources WILKES-BARRE - Passage of an ordinance downgrading the offense of possession of drug paraphernalia has sparked serious discussion among city officials - on marijuana decriminalization. Marijuana decriminalization in Wilkes-Barre is largely supported among top city officials and legislators, with only one of five city council members on the "definitely not" end of the scale. Proponents say decriminalizing possession of small amounts would help refocus police resources on fighting violent and serious drug crimes, alleviate pressure on the state court system and prevent creating or worsening criminal records for low-level offenders. [continues 769 words]
Guidelines Aim to Halt Steep Rise in Addiction. but Some Patients Are Worried. As a teen growing up in Lansdale, Pat Allan may have experimented with painkillers. But what put him in serious trouble, his family believes, was the Vicodin prescribed after his wisdom teeth were removed in high school. He escalated into abusing prescription opioids bought on the street and their cheaper cousin, heroin. He was 30 years old when New York City police called to say he had been found dead of an overdose. His little sister Kay listened on her dad's speakerphone. [continues 982 words]
Inside Pennsylvania
