HARRISBURG (AP) - Marijuana was the issue that set John Hanger apart from the other Democratic candidates for governor, and proponents of legalizing the drug for medical purposes in Pennsylvania credit him with drawing attention to their cause before he dropped out of the race this week. Hanger supported the medical pot proposal, but he also was the only candidate to advocate the more radical step of legalizing the drug statewide - a proposal he put on even footing with issues of wider appeal such as creating jobs and improving public schools. [continues 538 words]
But We're Evenly Split on Whether Weed Should Be Legal for Recreational Use. HARRISBURG (AP) - A large majority of Pennsylvania voters favor legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, but they are divided over whether possession of even small amounts for recreational use should be legalized, according to a poll released Monday. The poll from Connecticut's Quinnipiac University focused on an issue being debated in the Pennsylvania Legislature and among the Democrats hoping to challenge Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's re-election bid. [continues 327 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - A large majority of Pennsylvania voters favor legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, but they are divided over whether possession of even small amounts for recreational use should be legalized, according to a poll released Monday. The poll from Connecticut's Quinnipiac University focused on an issue being debated in the Pennsylvania Legislature and among the Democrats hoping to challenge Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's re-election bid. The survey showed that 85 percent of voters believe adult Pennsylvanians should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it. [continues 444 words]
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A large majority of Pennsylvania voters favor legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, but they are divided over whether possession of even small amounts for recreational use should be legalized, according to a poll released Monday. The poll from Connecticut's Quinnipiac University focused on an issue being debated in the Pennsylvania Legislature and among the Democrats hoping to challenge Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's re-election bid. The survey showed that 85 percent of voters believe adult Pennsylvanians should be allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes if their doctor prescribes it. [continues 350 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - Parents of children afflicted by epileptic seizures described their lives in heart-wrenching detail Tuesday as they appealed to Pennsylvania lawmakers to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, saying it could provide relief that conventional medications have not. The Senate Law and Justice Committee heard 2 1/2 hours of testimony from opponents and supporters on a topic that typically raises highly charged debate surrounding health care and illegal drugs in whatever state it's discussed. The Pennsylvania Medical Society opposes the bill, as does Republican Gov. Tom Corbett. The Medical Society said more study is needed. The Pennsylvania State Nurses Association supports the measure. [continues 476 words]
Attorney General Calls Marijuana a "Gateway Drug." HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane told a gathering of newspaper editors Friday that she opposes legislation to legalize marijuana because users often move on to harder drugs. "It's a gateway drug," Ms. Kane said in a luncheon speech during the annual conference of the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors. "When you don't get your high from marijuana you're going to turn to something else. It's going to be oxycodone and then it's going to be heroin. It doesn't stop just at marijuana," she said. "I oppose it for criminal justice reasons." [continues 276 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - Some advocates of repealing or relaxing Pennsylvania's anti-marijuana laws say they are encouraged by referendum votes to legalize recreational use of the drug in Colorado and Washington state, but Gov. Tom Corbett vows to veto any such bill. State Sen. Daylin Leach, who sponsored one of two medical-marijuana bills that died in committee during the just-ended legislative session, said the referendums results will help pave the way for similar measures in other states. Leach, D-Montgomery, compared marijuana legalization efforts to the debate over legalizing samesex marriage, saying that once a few states act, it will reveal the falsity of "all the horror stories" perpetuated by opponents. "More and more states will do it, and as more states do it, the arguments against it will become weaker and weaker," he said. [continues 227 words]
Recent Legalization Votes Buoy Advocates HARRISBURG (AP) - Some advocates of repealing or relaxing Pennsylvania's antimarijuana laws say they are encouraged by referendum votes to legalize recreational use of the drug in Colorado and Washington state, but Gov. Tom Corbett vows to veto any such bill. State Sen. Daylin Leach, who sponsored one of two medical-marijuana bills that died in committee during the just-ended legislative session, said the referendums results will help pave the way for similar measures in other states. [continues 306 words]
HARRISBURG- Some advocates of repealing or relaxing Pennsylvania's anti-marijuana laws say they are encouraged by referendum votes to legalize recreational use of the drug in Colorado and Washington state, but Gov. Tom Corbett vows to veto any such bill. State Sen. Daylin Leach, who sponsored one of two medical-marijuana bills that died in committee during the just-ended legislative session, said the referendums results will help pave the way for similar measures in other states. Leach, D-Montgomery, compared marijuana legalization efforts to the debate over legalizing same-sex marriage, saying that once a few states act, it will reveal the falsity of "all the horror stories" perpetuated by opponents. [continues 268 words]
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. - John McCrae, 1915 . . . The association of the poppy to those who had been killed in war has existed since the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. There exists a record from that time of how thickly poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. This early connection between the poppy and battlefield deaths described how fields that were barren before the battles exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. - - The Royal Canadian Legion [continues 822 words]
