Pubdate: Tue, 19 Jun 2018
Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA)
Copyright: 2018 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.
Contact: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/about/feedback/
Website: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339
Author: Sam Wood

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS, LEGALLY BANNED FROM DRIVING, MAY GET

A PASS IN PA.

All marijuana users are forbidden from operating a car, truck, boat,
or an airplane under Pennsylvania statute. That poses a conundrum for
medical marijuana patients who need to drive and want to stay within
the bounds of law.

Pa. Rep. Sheryl M. Delozier (R., Cumberland) says she aims to fix
that.

Delozier last week announced she'll introduce legislation that will
exempt medical marijuana patients as long as they are not driving
while impaired.

Driving under the influence is a crime in every state. But knowing
when a driver is too high to drive is nearly impossible to tell with a
test. Unlike with alcohol, there is nothing like a Breathalyzer devise
for cannabis that police can use. If an officer suspects a driver is
impaired, he can order a blood tests. But chemical compounds from
marijuana can remain in the blood for 15 days or more after use and
deliver an incriminating positive result.

Current laws ban driving by anyone using a Schedule 1 drug - a
substance the federal government considers to have no legitimate
medical use. The feds regard marijuana in that class, which also
includes heroin and LSD. In Pennsylvania, however, marijuana is
approved to treat 21 serious health conditions including PTSD and
opioid-use disorders.

"My legislation exempts 'medical marijuana' which is lawfully obtained
from the prohibition in these statutes with respect to Schedule 1
drugs," Delozier said in a memo to her colleagues. "Further, it
provides that an individual may operate a motor vehicle, an aircraft,
or a boat as long as safety is not impaired."

An increasingly large number of Pennsylvanians, nearly 40,000 of them,
have registered with the state to participate in the medical marijuana
program. More than 16,000 have received Health Department issued
identification cards and legally bought the drug at a dispensary.

CHOP plans 52-bed hospital in King of Prussia, but the facility is not
expected to open until 2021.
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