HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Tom Corbett has changed his position on medical marijuana policy and now supports the legalization of a marijuana extract to treat severe seizures in children, his office said Thursday.

Corbett's office confirmed to The Associated Press that the Republican governor was meeting with several parents to tell them in person about his decision. The governor remains opposed to other forms of medical marijuana, however, a spokesman said.

Corbett had been under pressure on the issue from two state senators and parents who believe the oil extract, called cannabidiol, can save the lives of their seizure-wracked children. All four Democrats running to challenge Corbett in the fall support the legalization of medical marijuana, and some parents were preparing a sit-in at Corbett's offices if he did not agree to meet with them.

[continues 390 words]

The American public has so conditioned itself to think of drug abuse as an innercity problem seen mostly among poor black and brown people that it is jarring when reality paints a very different picture.

That happened last week when authorities announced that they had broken up a drug ring catering to privileged teens in Philadelphia's tony suburbs. Nine adults and two 17-year-olds allegedly sold drugs to students at Lower Merion, Harriton, Conestoga, and Radnor High Schools.

The arrests made national news, which shows how rare major drug busts are in such settings. But that's not because Main Line teens are immune to drug abuse - particularly when it comes to marijuana, apparently the principal product sold by this ring.

[continues 204 words]

LANCASTER (AP) - Pennsylvania's highest court says police don't necessarily need a warrant to search a vehicle, but can do it based on reasonable probable cause.

The Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era reported Wednesday that the case involved a 2010 vehicle stop in Philadelphia that produced two pounds of marijuana.

The decision aligns Pennsylvania with existing federal standards.

A local police chief tells the newspaper the decision helps law enforcement in drug investigations, but defense attorneys are calling it an expansion of government power and a possible step toward the elimination of personal privacy and freedom.

In a dissent, Justice Debra Todd says the decision "contravenes over 225 years of unyielding protection against unreasonable search and seizure." She calls the change "diametrically contrary to the deep historical and legal traditions" of Pennsylvania.

[end]

WEST CHESTER -- For the second time in a month, a Chester County Court judge has declared a mandatory sentencing provision inserted into a drug trafficking charge unconstitutional because it contradicts a U.S. Supreme Court decision handed down in June of last year.

Common Pleas Court Judge Phyllis Streitel, in a one-page order issued April 29, said the provision that would set a prison term for the defendant, Demetrius Aaron Hardy of Las Vegas, Nev., at three years could not be applied to him in the formal charges leveled by the prosecution without butting up against the high court's decision.

[continues 1096 words]

Small Amounts a Civil Infraction

TAKING HIS WEED wishes a step further, Councilman Jim Kenney is introducing a bill today that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana a simple civil infraction - not a criminal one.

Kenney already wants to end mandatory custodial arrests for small amounts of marijuana, or "SAM," but this new bill would give police the discretion to arrest "bad actors" or simply issue a ticket carrying a $25 fine.

"Philadelphia is in the dark ages when it comes to marijuana laws and enforcement," he said.

[continues 227 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 189 words]

The heroin epidemic ravaging the nation is tied closely to the availability of powerful, legal prescription painkillers classifified 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 189 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 189 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. Marijuana is a curious case in the United States 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 Dravet syndrome, a seizure disorder that affects young children.

[continues 202 words]

Medical marijuana got a mixed report card when the American Academy of Neurology reviewed the science on the efficacy of the controversial substance in neurological disorders.

It could be helpful in multiple sclerosis, the researchers concluded. It didn't help side effects of the Parkinson's drug levodopa. There was insufficient evidence to evaluate it in several other diseases, including epilepsy.

The results were released Monday at the group's annual meeting this week at the Convention Center. More than 12,000 people are expected to attend.

[continues 594 words]

Editor: Regarding Gregory Gerdeman'=C2=80=C2=99s April 20 op-ed, not only should medical marijuana be made available, but all marijuana use should be legally regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers do not

ID for age.

Right now kids have an easier time buying pot than beer.

If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to subsidize violent drug cartels, prohibition is a success. The drug war distorts supply-and-demand dynamics so that big money grows on little trees. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a failure. The United States has almost double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands, where marijuana is legal.

[continues 73 words]

When voters are 85 percent in favor of something, politicians typically sit up, take notice and give the people what they want. But not Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll, that large majority of Pennsylvanians are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. A similar poll conducted at the same time last year by Franklin & Marshall College found 82 percent in favor. But the governor has said that he would veto any legislation legalizing even the medicinal use of the plant.

[continues 502 words]

It swallowed people up.

That's what it really did, if you want to know the truth. It swallowed them up whole, swallowed them up by the millions.

In the process, it hollowed out communities, broke families, stranded hope. Politicians brayed that they were being "tough on crime" -- as if anyone is really in favor of crime -- as they imposed ever longer and more inflexible sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. But the "War on Drugs" didn't hurt drugs at all: Usage rose by 2,800 percent - -- that's not a typo -- in the 40 years after it began in 1971. The "War" also made America the biggest jailer on Earth and drained a trillion dollars -- still not a typo -- from the treasury.

[continues 515 words]

Some in Law Enforcement Say Administrators Can Be Too Concerned About Protecting Schools' Images.

The investigation into a Main Line high school drug ring began months ago. Police arrested one alleged ringleader in February.

But school administrators said this week that they didn't know about the probe until hours before authorities Monday announced the arrests of 11 people and unveiled a cache of seized drugs, cash, and weapons.

The admission underscores what has become a frustration among some law enforcement agencies vying to root out networks that peddle to teens: Collaborating with schools during investigations can be difficult - or even counterproductive.

[continues 838 words]

The American public has so conditioned itself to think of drug abuse as an inner-city problem seen mostly among poor black and brown people that it is jarring when reality paints a very different picture.

That happened Monday when authorities announced that they had broken up a drug ring catering to privileged teens in Philadelphia's tony suburbs. Nine adults and two 17-year-olds allegedly sold drugs to students at Lower Merion, Harriton, Conestoga, and Radnor High Schools.

The arrests made national news, which shows how rare major drug busts are in such settings. But that's not because Main Line teens are immune to drug abuse - particularly when it comes to marijuana, apparently the principal product sold by this ring.

[continues 205 words]

There appears to be growing support in the Florida Legislature to legalize a type of marijuana that won't get you high but offers medical benefits for a range of maladies, including uncontrollable seizures in children.

House Bill 843, like similar bills being considered in other states, represents a new twist in our national history of redefining marijuana to achieve political goals. The bill would legalize strains of cannabis with extremely low levels of THC and high levels of a sister compound called cannabidiol, or CBD. Cannabidiol is close to THC in molecular structure but without the psychoactive effects. Studies have shown that when both are present, as in most recreational marijuana, CBD even works to counteract the THC-induced high.

[continues 299 words]

Maryland's marijuana laws remain a work in progress. Lawmakers in Annapolis have just enacted a measure to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of pot, treating it as an offense on a par with minor traffific infractions. But possession of drug paraphernalia - growing equipment, scales, bongs and "roach clips" - can still land you in jail and draw a stiff fifine. The logic in this arrangement may be lacking, but the trend is clear.

Across the country, states are moving to ease punishment for recreational pot use and to make medical marijuana more available. Two states, Colorado and Washington, have legalized the drug and are regulating and taxing it like alcohol. With the legislative landscape in such flflux, and public opinion shifting quickly in the direction of leniency, Maryland faced a real challenge in getting its laws right. After some anguished back and forth, it did so, mostly.

[continues 398 words]

WASHINGTON - Legal marijuana is spreading like a weed across the land but it has yet to take root in the place where people might benefit most from inhaling: the U.S. Capitol.

The Maryland General Assembly finished work Monday on a marijuana decriminalization bill, joining two dozen other states and the District in some form of legalization. Colorado and Washington allow recreational pot, while most others have legalized only medical marijuana, but the combined campaign has redefined the meaning of a grass-roots movement.

[continues 687 words]

The "Compassionate Use Of Medical Cannabis Act" sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer and Sen. Daylin Leach is being promoted to help children with debilitating diseases. The non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) that is being marketed for kids is not without risks. The National Institute of Health reported that CBD stores in the liver and causes sterility problems.

The senators' proposal will allow medical cannabis farmers who are cannabis patients to keep up to 25 percent of their crop. Marijuana will be permitted for smoking and vaporization purposes in public places. Because physicians and patients will be given immunity, written certifications may be given to persons with substance abuse problems through legal loopholes like "debilitating medical conditions" and "severe and chronic pain."

[continues 86 words]

The arguments over the use of marijuana and just how it affects the human body rage on every day as more and more states across the country debate the legalization or at least the decriminalization of pot.

However, what can't be argued is that smoking marijuana is more than likely going to leave you in a condition that shouldn't include getting behind the wheel of a car. And then toss in texting while driving to boot and you have a deadly combination.

[continues 466 words]