Not everyone who takes marijuana gets high or feels good. Some users panic, the National Institute of Drug Abuse said on its website. Even among patients using marijuana for medical conditions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received "extremely limited reports" of adverse events. Ed Pane, a Hazleton drug counselor, said those adverse events include people who ingest edible marijuana, which takes effect slower than other forms so patients ingest more. After the drug kicks in, some users have developed paranoia and harmed themselves or others. [continues 307 words]
State among several to allow treatment not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Pennsylvania and the federal government disagree about the usefulness of marijuana as medicine. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration hasn't approved marijuana as safe and effective for treating any illness, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as recently as Aug. 11 kept marijuana in the same drug category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy. But Pennsylvania enacted a law in April that lists 17 conditions for which doctors can prescribe marijuana, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, posttraumatic stress disorder, autism, epilepsy and Parkinson's, Crohn's and Huntington's diseases. [continues 1090 words]
Local officials - and more important state lawmakers - would be wise to study up on Harrisburg's new ordinance reducing penalties for marijuana possession within city limits. After nearly a half-year of debate, which included council meetings and meetings with the public, Harrisburg's city council unanimously approved a measure last week which would essentially equate being busted with a small amount of marijuana to receiving a traffic ticket. The argument for the move is that the punishment is more befitting the crime. A person now charged with possession of marijuana will face a $75 fine for a first and second offense with a third offense leading to a misdemeanor. Additionally, someone nabbed smoking the drug in public will face at $150 fine, an amendment officials said is to deter public use of the drug. [continues 244 words]
Once Unthinkable in US, Drug Shoot-Up Rooms Get Serious Look Across the United States, heroin and other drug users have died in alleys behind convenience stores, on city sidewalks and in the bathrooms of fast-food joints - because no one was around to save them when they overdosed. An alarming 47,000 American overdose deaths in 2014 has pushed elected leaders from coast to coast to consider government-sanctioned sites where heroin users can shoot up under the supervision of a doctor or nurse who can administer an antidote if necessary. [continues 498 words]
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Marlene Manning was glad to be back in her native California on Wednesday for an annual 4/20 celebration, where reggae music played loudly and the smell of weed pervaded. The 50-year-old real estate agent just relocated from Florida, where "everything is against the law," she joked. She wasn't partaking, but she joined thousands of others at San Francisco's Golden Gate Park who were enjoying an annual marijuana-ingesting event to the fullest. "It's freedom," said Manning, pushing a stroller with her 6-month-old granddaughter on the periphery of the gathering on "Hippie Hill." They passed by empty bocce ball courts and young adults wearing tie-dyed shirts. "This is so refreshing." [continues 768 words]
Pennsylvania lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf have helped to ease some medical patients' suffering by legalizing the use of prescribed medical marijuana. Now, their task is to see if the same rare bipartisan cooperation that led to the new law can ease the commonwealth's pain from polarized, unproductive governance. The bill, which also promotes further research into the medicinal value of marijuana, is a healthy departure from the political paralysis that has produced such debacles as the longest budget impasse in Pennsylvania history. Ultimately, the bill became law because enough lawmakers focused on Pennsylvanians' needs rather than on politics alone. The same approach by lawmakers, rather than digging in their heels on ideological grounds, might produce similar results on other important but stalled initiatives. [end]
New State Law Allows Cannabis Companies to Turn a Profit ADELANTO, Calif. - After decades of thriving in legally hazy backyards and basements, California's most notorious crop, marijuana, is emerging from the underground into a decidedly capitalist era. Under a new state law, marijuana businesses will be allowed to turn a profit - which has been forbidden since 1996, when California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis - and limits on the number of plants farmers can grow will be eliminated. [continues 397 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - Some key Senate backers of medical marijuana legalization are expressing concern about a marijuana bill passed by the House last week, raising the possibility of a delay in getting the drug into the hands of Pennsylvania patients suffering from conditions like cancer and epilepsy. Senate staff and lawyers found what they say are numerous flaws in the legislation passed by the House last week. Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, who sponsored the initial bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate last year, might press for changes and another vote by both chambers instead of agreeing to the House version and sending it to Gov. Tom Wolf for his signature. [continues 341 words]
Amid a long and dispiriting budget battle, Republican state lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf found common ground last week on an important bill to expand the arsenal of safe drugs used to combat pain. The House passed a bill to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, 149-43. In the process, representatives rejected a series of poison-pill amendments by misguided law-and-order advocates that would have made the bill impossible to implement in practice. Sen. Mike Folmer, a conservative Republican from Lebanon who helped shepherd a similar bill to passage in the Senate last year, expected that the House and Senate bills to be reconciled and sent to Wolf, who plans to sign it. [continues 155 words]
Editor: Another reason to allow sick citizens to use cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned (Pennsylvania lawmakers start debating bill to permit the use of medical marijuana, Mar. 15), is because it is Biblically correct since God indicates He created all the seed-bearing plants saying they're all good on literally the very first page of the Bible. The only Biblical restriction to using cannabis is to use it with thankfulness (1 Tim. 4:1-5). Many people know of cannabis as the tree of life and the very last page of the Bible indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. A sane or moral argument to cage sick people who use cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillion, Colorado [end]
Proponents Say Potential Ordinance Would Refocus Police Resources WILKES-BARRE - Passage of an ordinance downgrading the offense of possession of drug paraphernalia has sparked serious discussion among city officials - on marijuana decriminalization. Marijuana decriminalization in Wilkes-Barre is largely supported among top city officials and legislators, with only one of five city council members on the "definitely not" end of the scale. Proponents say decriminalizing possession of small amounts would help refocus police resources on fighting violent and serious drug crimes, alleviate pressure on the state court system and prevent creating or worsening criminal records for low-level offenders. [continues 769 words]
HARRISBURG - Patients and academic researchers would have access to marijuana for medical purposes under milestone legislation to place Pennsylvania among the ranks of states with legal cannabis programs. The measure approved by House lawmakers Wednesday envisions a research role for hospitals, universities and academic medical centers into the use of medical marijuana to treat diseases. The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton sees a potential avenue for getting involved with medical marijuana research in the future. "Some of the proposed uses of medical marijuana may be relevant to TCMC's Behavioral Health Initiative and cancer care in NEPA," said Dr. Steven J. Scheinman, president and dean of the college. "We may develop an interest in research on this topic but have no specific plans at present." [continues 264 words]
HARRISBURG (AP) - The Pennsylvania House of Representatives took up a proposal Monday to permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes, a potential breakthrough for supporters who have worked for several years to get legalization through the Republican-controlled Legislature. The debate began with passage of an elaborate amendment, crafted by a bipartisan task force, laying out rules for how the program would work, including eligibility and regulations. It was approved by a 152-38 vote, but the measure still requires a final House vote. [continues 347 words]
Following Wilkes-Barre City Council's vote to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia last week, city police Chief Marcella Lendacky is now studying whether the city should follow the lead of Philadelphia and some other, larger cities and do the same for small quantities of marijuana. Proponents of decriminalization say marijuana arrests clog the court system with non-violent offenders whose future career and education prospects are often ruined for doing something that is treated like a traffic ticket in some parts of the country and totally legal in others. The move would give police officers the discretion to file summary charges for possession rather than more serious misdemeanor charges. [continues 210 words]
WILKES-BARRE - Starting today, adults found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia in the city might catch a break from the Wilkes-Barre City Police Department. City council at its regular meeting Thursday voted 5-0 to pass the second and final reading of a paraphernalia ordinance downgrading possession from a misdemeanor to a summary offense at the discretion of the arresting officer. Factors that police will consider include the criminal background of an offender and whether the person is going to be facing more serious charges. [continues 542 words]
WILKES-BARRE - It's not a soft spot in their heart that has city officials pushing to decriminalize a minor drug offense, but rather a soft spot in their wallet. Mayor Tony George and his administration aim to reduce possession of drug paraphernalia from a misdemeanor criminal offense to a summary offense so the city could boost its coffers with the money collected through city-issued citations. City council at its regular meeting Thursday unanimously approved the first of two readings of the motion to amend Wilkes-Barre's ordinance. The maximum penalty for a summary conviction is a $300 fine. Defaulting on the payment could land an offender in Luzerne County Correctional Facility for up to 90 days. [continues 591 words]
Law Prohibits Businesses From Accepting Checks, Credit Cards, So They Deal Only in Cash At the Cannabis Club Collective in Tacoma, Washington, Brian Caldwell has installed a top-of-the-line alarm system, motion sensors and a safe, hoping to protect the cash he collects from the 200-plus customers who buy marijuana at his store on an average day. "We pretty much had to make a bank within our walls," he said. And at Auntie Dolores, a marijuana edibles shop in Oakland, Calif., Julianna Carella uses pouches to bag her cash at the end of the day, then sticks it in her trunk, feeling nervous as she drives away. [continues 469 words]
Anything you put in my mouth you're going to lose. - Andy Dufresne If you have seen the movie "The Shawshank Redemption," you may remember that line from the scene in which the character played by Tim Robbins is about to become the victim of a brutal prison assault. The film's narrator says it was the first of many assaults to come. That fiction is an unfortunate truth for prison and jail inmates across America. President Barack Obama acknowledged the horrible reality Tuesday in addressing the 106th annual convention of the NAACP in Philadelphia. He then announced a long-needed effort to reform the nation's criminal justice system. [continues 444 words]
Twenty years ago, drug dealers were seen for what they were - criminal and dangerous elements in our society. They were shunned by the mainstream. People who sold marijuana were considered losers, in the business of harming our children. Parents warned their kids to stay away from those known to use drugs. But thanks to the marijuana lobby, what was once scorned is hyped and celebrated - even as the drug has become more potent, with THC, the intoxicating chemical, present at much higher levels than in the 1990s. Dealers run state-sanctioned dispensaries, lobby to further legalize their product and receive positive media coverage when doing so. [continues 682 words]
Regarding your thoughtful Feb. 1 editorial, not only should medical marijuana be made available to patients in need, but all adult use should be legal and regulated. Drug policies modeled after alcohol prohibition have given rise to a youth-oriented black market. Illegal drug dealers don't ID for age, but they do recruit minors immune to adult sentences. Throwing more money at the problem is no solution. Attempts to limit the supply of illegal drugs while demand remains constant only increase the profitability of drug trafficking. For addictive drugs like heroin, a spike in street prices leads desperate addicts to increase criminal activity to feed desperate habits. The drug war doesn'??t fight crime, it fuels crime. [continues 63 words]
