Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
"I was wrong."
When was the last time you heard a politician say those words? The last time you heard an elected official stand up and do a 180 from a previously held belief?
Go ahead. Take a minute. I'll be here, waiting, when you're done.
Done? Couldn't think of anyone. Here. I'll help. State Sen. Michael Folmer. Republican. Conservative. He represents a senatorial district that encompasses all of Lebanon County and slices of Dauphin and York; he represented parts of northern Lancaster County from 2007-12. Sam Bradford will take the Eagles to the Super Bowl before that district elects a liberal Democrat.
Folmer is the guy who said "I was wrong." He said it to me last week. And he's been saying it since 2013. That's when he joined forces with maybe the most liberal member of the state Senate, Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) to bring medical marijuana to the people of the commonwealth who need it.
They co-sponsored a bill to do that in the last session. They co-sponsored another one this session, Senate Bill 3 (see it online at bit.ly/PaSenateBill3), that just came out of committee. Gov. Tom Wolf has said he will sign a bill if it passes the Senate and House.
I asked Folmer how he arrived at his change in position. He said it came about when two women, both mothers, came into his Harrisburg office and asked him to consider pushing to bring medical marijuana to the commonwealth.
He was polite, but wary. "I wasn't really jumping up and down" to embrace this. "I'm from Lebanon. I'm in a new district."
But the two women brought in papers and studies about how marijuana could help with seizures, could ease the nausea from chemotherapy, could provide relief for all kinds of conditions for children and adults. That this was medicine that could help people.
That could make life more bearable for people with chronic illnesses, that this drug, used for thousands of years, could bring "safe, compassionate access" to Pennsylvanians. That it could help veterans and nonveterans alike with post-traumatic stress disorder. That, unlike opiates, nobody ever died of an overdose.
And Mike Folmer, who "never even knew what 420 meant," who didn't even know about the efficacy of medical marijuana during his own bout with cancer, read their paperwork. And studies.
And that is how a man gets to "I was wrong."
I was curious as to how Folmer approached this with other conservative central Pennsylvania legislators, to try to persuade them. He acknowledged that "It's not easy" to make that pitch, but he's tried.
"I pitch it through education. I'm a Bible-believing Presbyterian," he said. "This is about medication. This is about quality of life. It's my duty to help as a Christian. Under the right stewardship, this could be very beneficial to humankind." He doesn't view those who oppose this "as our enemy, but they just don't know. Hopefully they will open their hearts and minds to it."
Which brings us to Lancaster County's two Republican state senators, Ryan Aument and Lloyd Smucker. They both have said they will oppose Senate Bill 3 when it comes up for a full Senate vote, although they've both left the door open a tiny crack on that issue.
I hope they fling the door wide open. I hope they are willing to put aside whatever fears they may have, whatever propaganda about the evils of marijuana they've been led to believe are true that has no basis in fact.
I hope they listen to their fellow conservative, central Pennsylvania colleague, Mike Folmer, who looked at the issue, who changed his mind, and who has tried to carry the message in a way that is genuinely heroic.
Lloyd and Ryan, open your minds. Open your hearts. There are countless Pennsylvanians who will be forever grateful to you, if you just say the words. Three words. Three simple, monosyllabic words.
"I was wrong."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana becomes conservative senator?s issue - LancasterOnline: Columnists
Author: Mitchell Sommers
Contact: Contact Us - LancasterOnline: Site
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: LancasterOnline: Lancaster County's leading source of news and information
When was the last time you heard a politician say those words? The last time you heard an elected official stand up and do a 180 from a previously held belief?
Go ahead. Take a minute. I'll be here, waiting, when you're done.
Done? Couldn't think of anyone. Here. I'll help. State Sen. Michael Folmer. Republican. Conservative. He represents a senatorial district that encompasses all of Lebanon County and slices of Dauphin and York; he represented parts of northern Lancaster County from 2007-12. Sam Bradford will take the Eagles to the Super Bowl before that district elects a liberal Democrat.
Folmer is the guy who said "I was wrong." He said it to me last week. And he's been saying it since 2013. That's when he joined forces with maybe the most liberal member of the state Senate, Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery) to bring medical marijuana to the people of the commonwealth who need it.
They co-sponsored a bill to do that in the last session. They co-sponsored another one this session, Senate Bill 3 (see it online at bit.ly/PaSenateBill3), that just came out of committee. Gov. Tom Wolf has said he will sign a bill if it passes the Senate and House.
I asked Folmer how he arrived at his change in position. He said it came about when two women, both mothers, came into his Harrisburg office and asked him to consider pushing to bring medical marijuana to the commonwealth.
He was polite, but wary. "I wasn't really jumping up and down" to embrace this. "I'm from Lebanon. I'm in a new district."
But the two women brought in papers and studies about how marijuana could help with seizures, could ease the nausea from chemotherapy, could provide relief for all kinds of conditions for children and adults. That this was medicine that could help people.
That could make life more bearable for people with chronic illnesses, that this drug, used for thousands of years, could bring "safe, compassionate access" to Pennsylvanians. That it could help veterans and nonveterans alike with post-traumatic stress disorder. That, unlike opiates, nobody ever died of an overdose.
And Mike Folmer, who "never even knew what 420 meant," who didn't even know about the efficacy of medical marijuana during his own bout with cancer, read their paperwork. And studies.
And that is how a man gets to "I was wrong."
I was curious as to how Folmer approached this with other conservative central Pennsylvania legislators, to try to persuade them. He acknowledged that "It's not easy" to make that pitch, but he's tried.
"I pitch it through education. I'm a Bible-believing Presbyterian," he said. "This is about medication. This is about quality of life. It's my duty to help as a Christian. Under the right stewardship, this could be very beneficial to humankind." He doesn't view those who oppose this "as our enemy, but they just don't know. Hopefully they will open their hearts and minds to it."
Which brings us to Lancaster County's two Republican state senators, Ryan Aument and Lloyd Smucker. They both have said they will oppose Senate Bill 3 when it comes up for a full Senate vote, although they've both left the door open a tiny crack on that issue.
I hope they fling the door wide open. I hope they are willing to put aside whatever fears they may have, whatever propaganda about the evils of marijuana they've been led to believe are true that has no basis in fact.
I hope they listen to their fellow conservative, central Pennsylvania colleague, Mike Folmer, who looked at the issue, who changed his mind, and who has tried to carry the message in a way that is genuinely heroic.
Lloyd and Ryan, open your minds. Open your hearts. There are countless Pennsylvanians who will be forever grateful to you, if you just say the words. Three words. Three simple, monosyllabic words.
"I was wrong."
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana becomes conservative senator?s issue - LancasterOnline: Columnists
Author: Mitchell Sommers
Contact: Contact Us - LancasterOnline: Site
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: LancasterOnline: Lancaster County's leading source of news and information
