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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Mark Cohen |
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Patients call for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania
HARRISBURG, Dec. 2 – State Rep. Mark B. Cohen, D-Phila.,
joined dozens of patients and advocates at a Capitol news conference today urging support for his legislation (H.B. 1393) that would allow the use of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.
Following the event, the House Health and Human Services Committee will hold a hearing on Cohen's landmark legislation. It is the first time a legislative hearing has been held on medical marijuana.
"This is an opportunity for patients, health-care workers, attorneys and other supporters to tell the legislature and the public about the safe and effective benefits of medical marijuana, and continue to alter the outdated view of what should be another treatment option for many Pennsylvanians living in pain and discomfort," Cohen said. "The time has come for Pennsylvania to join 13 states that allow patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV or other physically painful diseases to treat their symptoms and alleviate their suffering with this proven health-care option."
Cohen said numerous medical studies, including a 1999 study by the National Academy of Sciences' Institute of Medicine, have discovered the beneficial use of medical marijuana in treating or alleviating pain and other symptoms associated with some debilitating conditions. For some patients, traditional treatment options have not worked or have severe side effects.
"Many of the pharmaceutical drugs commonly prescribed for patients to manage their pain, such as morphine or OxyContin, are strongly addictive. This leaves patients with the hard decision of living in pain or risking terrible withdrawal difficulties.
"Research shows that allowing for the medical use of marijuana can help patients to manage or improve the symptoms of their chronic diseases and medical conditions without the addictive properties of common options available today in local pharmacies."
Cohen noted a substantial change by the federal government would make enacting his legislation, the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, easier. The Obama administration has reversed Bush administrative policy and said federal agencies will not pursue patients using medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
Strong public support
The health care community and the public are increasingly demonstrating support for allowing patients to use medical marijuana. Professional groups from the American Academy of Family Physicians to the American Nurses Association, the New England Journal of Medicine and several newspapers around the state have recommended allowing patients to access this treatment option.
Many polls show the public supports medical marijuana. A nonscientific survey on Cohen's Web site -- www.pahouse.com/Cohen -- found 80 percent supported the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes. Internet polls in Wilkes-Barre for television station WYOU and in Philadelphia for the Philadelphia Metro found 79 percent and 96 percent support, respectively. In a statewide poll on the issue, a sampling in the 2006 Casey-Santorum U.S. Senate race taken by Franklin and Marshall College Center for Politics and Public Affairs found 76 percent of the sample, disproportionately weighted with Republicans, in favor of medical marijuana, with 20 percent against.
Medical marijuana has been legalized in 13 states including Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Legislation has been introduced in three other states, including New York and New Jersey.
Note: The House Health and Human Services Committee hearing on H.B. 1393, which would allow some patients to use medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, will be streamed live on www.pahouse.com.
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