Pubdate: Thu, 03 Dec 2009
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)
Copyright: 2009 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc
Contact:  http://www.philly.com/inquirer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/340
Author: Amy Worden
Note: Inquirer staff writer Adrienne Lu contributed to this  article.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)

MEDICAL MARIJUANA GETS HEARING IN PA. HOUSE

It Was Standing Room Only As Those For And Against Lined Up To Deliver
Tales And Pleas.

HARRISBURG - The heart-wrenching stories came from both
sides.

A Pittsburgh man testified of wishing he could have  used pot to ease
his dying mother's "excruciating  pain." Parents of drug-addicted
children said the last  thing the state should do is join the 13
others that  allow medical use of marijuana.

Thus did the Pennsylvania legislature dip its toe into  the roiling
waters of the legalization debate for the  first time yesterday.

The setting was a standing-room-only hearing of a House  committee
considering a bill titled the Compassionate  Use of Medical Marijuana
Act.

The sponsor, Rep. Mark Cohen (D., Phila.), said he  hoped the
testimony would "alter the outdated view of  what should be another
treatment option for many  Pennsylvanians living in pain and
discomfort."

His bill, modeled on laws in other states, would create  a registry of
patients who, with doctors' supervision  and authorization, could buy
limited amounts of the  drug for medicinal purposes. State-licensed
"compassion  centers" would grow and sell the marijuana.

"The time has come," Cohen said, "for Pennsylvania to  join 13 states
that allow patients suffering from  cancer, glaucoma, HIV, or other
physically painful  diseases to treat their symptoms and alleviate
their  suffering with this proven health-care option."

Cohen has six cosponsors, a precious few in the  203-member House. In
the Senate, the majority  Republican caucus has no plans to take up
the issue  even if the House bill passes, caucus spokesman Eric
Arneson said.

Yesterday's hearing before the Health and Human  Services Committee
came at a time when a growing list  of states have considered or
enacted legalization laws,  and the Obama administration has halted
raids on  medical-marijuana dispensaries, a marked shift from
President George W. Bush's drug policy. Attorney  General Eric H.
Holder Jr. has said his prosecutors  will not go after people who
comply with state medical  marijuana laws.

In New Jersey, a bill is moving quickly through the  Legislature and
has Gov. Corzine's support. In Oregon  and California, two of the
states where medical  marijuana is legal, patients seeking relief from
  chronic pain and disease may now purchase pot from  hundreds of
dispensaries.

Witnesses at yesterday's three-hour hearing came from  groups such as
the ACLU and Pennsylvanians for Medical  Marijuana, and mostly favored
the bill. But people on  both sides of the issue offered compelling
testimony  about how drugs - legal and not - can devastate  families.

Charles Rocha, 25 of Pittsburgh, said his mother, who  died of cancer
in January, suffered needlessly from the  effects of prescription
pain-killers.

Sharon Smith of Mechanicsburg lost her 18-year-old  daughter to a
heroin overdose in 1998. She said the  state should not legislate
medical policy decisions.

"We should leave it up to" the U.S. Food and Drug  Administration,
testified Smith, founder of MomsTell, a  drug and alcohol addiction
resource and advocacy group.  "We have people who are sick and dying
from substance  abuse."

Rocha disagreed. "They should look at it as a human  issue, not a
legal issue," he testified. "Why can't we  all come to our senses and,
if a person is dying and in  excruciating pain, let them have their
marijuana?"

Officials of the Pennsylvania Medical Society did not  testify, but
submitted comments echoing the position of  the American Medical
Association taking issue with a  drug delivered via cigarettes.

The AMA advocates more federal research into the  development of a
smoke-free, inhaled "delivery system"  to reduce the health hazards
associated with inhaling  marijuana smoke.

Governors on both sides of the Delaware are open to the  issue. Gov.
Rendell's spokesman, Gary Tuma, said that  if the legislature were to
send Rendell a "carefully  written bill legalizing marijuana for
medical purposes,  he would sign it."

In Trenton, a medical-marijuana bill has been approved  by the Senate
and by a committee vote in the Assembly,  but has not yet been posted
for a floor vote in the  lower house. Corzine has said he will sign
the bill if  it reaches his desk before the session ends Jan. 11.

New Jersey Gov.-elect Christopher J. Christie has said  he, too, might
sign such a bill if it is revived after  he takes over next year, but
has questioned whether a  previous draft contained enough
restrictions.

Inquirer staff writer Adrienne Lu contributed to this  article. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jo-D