Pubdate: Sun, 29 Dec 2013
Source: Daily Item (Sunbury, PA)
Copyright: 2013 The Daily Item
Contact:  http://www.dailyitem.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1045
Author: Evamarie Socha
Note: Harrisburg reporter John Finnerty and The Associated Press contributed
to this report.

POT PLAN FIRES UP VALLEY'S BACKERS

SUNBURY - John Hanger doesn't use marijuana.

Never has, he said Saturday, and would not "unless I needed it for
medical reasons."

And Hanger wants everyone - including children - who needs cannabis
for medical reasons to have access it to it. Legalizing marijuana is a
key part of his platform as one of nine Democrats vying for the nod in
the May primary for next fall's gubernatorial race.

"I'd be angry if my doctor said I need it, but I have to go to
Colorado to get it," said Hanger, the only one of the nine candidates
who publicly advocates legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania as
20 states and the District of Columbia have done.

It's not just medicinal marijuana use he wants legitimized. Hanger
wants marijuana decriminalized in Pennsylvania, which he thinks wastes
too much money - about $350 million annually - arresting, trying and
imprisoning people for possessing small amounts of marijuana and its
paraphernalia. He also sees it as an additional agriculture product
and a valuable source of tax revenue.

To this end, Hanger has a three-step approach to changing
Pennsylvania's relationship with pot:

Fully approve medical marijuana use in the Keystone
State.

"Doctors should prescribe medicine, not politicians," Hanger said. "We
have politicians saying (doctors) can't prescribe cannabis to cancer
patients and children with seizure disorders. ... That's cruel and
barbaric."

Decriminalize grass. As many as 25,000 people per year would no longer
would be arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana. Under
Pennsylvania's Criminal Code, 1 ounce or less is a misdemeanor charge
equaling 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Possession of drug
paraphernalia lands a person up to a year in jail and with fines up to
$2,500.

Regulate and tax marijuana. Revenue would benefit education and
property tax relief, especially for senior citizens.

"Hemp was a big cash crop here in the 1920s and 1930s," Hanger said,
noting Hempfield in Lancaster County was named for the many hemp
fields that grew there. Marijuana "has many different uses, and there
is a lot of opportunity here," he said.

"We need to have sensible reform plan," Hanger said, particularly for
medical use. "We are well behind the 20 states that prescribe it to
patients."

The medicinal use has brought marijuana legalization front and center
in the state. Colorado is the most cited of legalized states because
it's where a special extraction of cannabis, promising in the
treatment of pediatric epilepsy, is available.

That extraction is cannabidiol, or CBD, a marijuana compound credited
with various medical applications without the high, which comes from
THC. The drug is administered to children with a dropper and to adults
in pill form.

In November, Pennsylvania state Sens. Daylin Leach, D-Montgomery, and
Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, introduced a bill to legalize this form of
marijuana for medicinal use in the commonwealth. They did so at a
rally attended by parents of children suffering from seizure
disorders, many of whom are moving to Colorado seeking the drug to
help their seizure-saddled children.

One mother, Dana Ulrich of Reinholds in Lancaster County, is looking
to Colorado to get the medicine for her 6-year-old daughter, who
suffers as many as 400 seizures a day. Another mother at the rally,
Amy Houk, a lifelong Lawrence County resident, and her family are
moving to Colorado to get access to the drug for their 5-year-old son,
who suffered a seizure while attending the rally.

Leach also has sponsored a bill that would legalize marijuana for
personal consumption, another angle that Hanger favors.

"Personally, I don't use it," he said. "I realize for some people,
using is like having a bottle of wine. They do it in the privacy of
their homes. I want them to pay taxes and have it properly regulated."

Hanger said he's met parents of children "who have begged me to deal
with this, because they have a good child who got caught with a joint.
It's caused problems with employment and college applications. .. We
need to stop arresting so many people for these nonviolent offenses.
We need to stop ruining people's lives."

Not arresting people for possession of an ounce or less of marijuana
"would get a lot of people out of the court systems, jails. " We need
jobs, not jails," he said. "Having marijuana regulated and taxed is
exactly part of that plan."

Eliminating the $350 million spent on prosecution and incarceration
and, in turn, regulating and taxing cannabis, Hanger said, may bring
as much as a half-billion dollars annually into Pennsylvania's pocket.

Numerous Valley residents support Hanger's stand, given posts Saturday
on the Facebook page of The Daily Item, where the newspaper asked
people whether they agree with Hanger's marijuana legalization plan
for Pennsylvania. Yet a poll on The Daily Item's homepage found views
from respondents split nearly 50-50.

Cristy Harding and Victoria Rosancrans both cited children with
epilepsy who would benefit from the pot-derived drug.

"It has less side effects than the medicines my son is on for
epilepsy," Harding said. "Depakote (used to treat seizure disorders)
can cause liver failure and kill my son. We have to have blood work
every six months to check that his liver is OK."

Wrote Rosencrans: "My patient's mother just met with (a state
lawmaker from the Valley) on Friday about this very topic. Children
are dying from seizures every day. This medication would give parents
some hope for the future health of their children."

Wrote Angelalynn Buch: "Legalizing it provides jobs, boosts the
economy, stops deforestation, lessens the drain on taxpayer dollars
for correctional facilities and improves the life of so many
suffering with these ridiculous man-made drugs that destroy our bodies."

Others were skeptical.

Judith Parker said it's "debatable" the number of people with actual
medical need for marijuana, fearing it would lead to abuse.

"Are they then going to share with people they know just for the sake
of getting high? It's a proven fact that even pot destroys human brain
cells," she said. "Does (Hanger) want to contribute to a bunch of
idiots walking and driving around?"

Patricia Davis questioned whether marijuana is really the most
important issue for Pennsylvania.

"The state is going downhill," she said. "So many things that need to
be tackled first. It's just not that high on the list."

Hanger, however, sees the matter as one of utmost importance.
Legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania "would get a lot of people out of
the court systems and jails," he said. "We need jobs, not jails.
Having marijuana regulated and taxed is exactly part of that plan.

"Let's strip away the hypocrisy" surrounding marijuana use in
Pennsylvania, Hanger said. "I live in the real world, and I want to
regulate and tax it."

Harrisburg reporter John Finnerty and The Associated Press contributed
to this report.  
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