Robert Celt
New Member
Morning Call column today is about Pennsylvania's stalled medical marijuana legislation and continuing attempts to kill it.
The bottom line is that Senate Bill 3 survived assassination attempts by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and House Health Committee Chair Matt Baker, R-Tioga, and ended up with a working group that eventually agreed on a version that had its bipartisan support. But the state budget impasse has brought anything else that's even mildly controversial to a standstill.
"Obviously the budget has sucked a lot of air out of the room to do a lot of things," explained Steven Miskin, spokesman for House Majority Leader David Reed, R-Indiana.
Meanwhile, the bill has been loaded up with some 197 amendments, including dozens proposed by people, like Baker, who want the bill dead.
Combined, these developments have riled parents of children with seizure disorders and others who would benefit from the opportunity to seek treatment with medicinal cannabis. Some of those parents have set up a Still Waiting Room in the Capitol, a constant reminder that these delays continue to put their children at risk.
I didn't have room in today's column, but I wanted to share part of an email I received from Deena Kenney of Bethlehem, whose 19-year-old son, Christopher, has a genetic disorder that has resulted in uncontrolled seizures and behavioral problems made worse by his anti-seizure drugs.
She wrote, "Since two months ago, Campaign for Compassion and other advocates that live near Harrisburg have been there every day in the 'still waiting room' ( it's a clever idea that Marijuana Policy Project came up with to stage a 'doctor's' waiting room at the Capitol with patients sitting there every day, calling it the 'still waiting room') . Last week, when we put a sign up with the condition of the bill listed as 'Congestive Legislative Failure,' two reps walked past and said it's more like 'dead.' The only thing dead' should be their careers.
"The House in Pennsylvania is SO frustrating! There is really no way around them! The People actually have no say in our own government. Other states have gotten around their legislatures by going straight to the people with ballot initiatives. We do not have this option. If we did, we would have been done with this long ago. The people of Pennsylvania consistently poll in favor of medical marijuana at a rate of 85-90%. The way democracy is supposed to work, that would be more than enough support. Ironic that here we sit in a state the is considered the birthplace of democracy, and all I can think is that it's the place where democracy goes to die!"
I used one of Campaign for Compassion's photos with my column today. It shows Grace Witwer -- who died a few months later at just 20 months old -- with two other children with similar conditions. I decided to share a few more photos here, including shots of the Still Waiting Room and two of the children. I particularly love Annie Sharrer's smile.
The bottom line is that while Harrisburg fiddles, families are suffering. You can see that expressed dramatically here.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Parents Fight For Medical Marijuana
Author: Bill White
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Morning Call
The bottom line is that Senate Bill 3 survived assassination attempts by House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, and House Health Committee Chair Matt Baker, R-Tioga, and ended up with a working group that eventually agreed on a version that had its bipartisan support. But the state budget impasse has brought anything else that's even mildly controversial to a standstill.
"Obviously the budget has sucked a lot of air out of the room to do a lot of things," explained Steven Miskin, spokesman for House Majority Leader David Reed, R-Indiana.
Meanwhile, the bill has been loaded up with some 197 amendments, including dozens proposed by people, like Baker, who want the bill dead.
Combined, these developments have riled parents of children with seizure disorders and others who would benefit from the opportunity to seek treatment with medicinal cannabis. Some of those parents have set up a Still Waiting Room in the Capitol, a constant reminder that these delays continue to put their children at risk.
I didn't have room in today's column, but I wanted to share part of an email I received from Deena Kenney of Bethlehem, whose 19-year-old son, Christopher, has a genetic disorder that has resulted in uncontrolled seizures and behavioral problems made worse by his anti-seizure drugs.
She wrote, "Since two months ago, Campaign for Compassion and other advocates that live near Harrisburg have been there every day in the 'still waiting room' ( it's a clever idea that Marijuana Policy Project came up with to stage a 'doctor's' waiting room at the Capitol with patients sitting there every day, calling it the 'still waiting room') . Last week, when we put a sign up with the condition of the bill listed as 'Congestive Legislative Failure,' two reps walked past and said it's more like 'dead.' The only thing dead' should be their careers.
"The House in Pennsylvania is SO frustrating! There is really no way around them! The People actually have no say in our own government. Other states have gotten around their legislatures by going straight to the people with ballot initiatives. We do not have this option. If we did, we would have been done with this long ago. The people of Pennsylvania consistently poll in favor of medical marijuana at a rate of 85-90%. The way democracy is supposed to work, that would be more than enough support. Ironic that here we sit in a state the is considered the birthplace of democracy, and all I can think is that it's the place where democracy goes to die!"
I used one of Campaign for Compassion's photos with my column today. It shows Grace Witwer -- who died a few months later at just 20 months old -- with two other children with similar conditions. I decided to share a few more photos here, including shots of the Still Waiting Room and two of the children. I particularly love Annie Sharrer's smile.
The bottom line is that while Harrisburg fiddles, families are suffering. You can see that expressed dramatically here.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Parents Fight For Medical Marijuana
Author: Bill White
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Morning Call
