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HB 1393 Puts Medical Marijuana on the PA Agenda
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HB 1393 Puts Medical Marijuana on the PA Agenda
by Edward Pane,
CAC Diplomate, CCS
Editor’s note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily those of PCB.
On April 30, 2009, Rep. Mark Cohen introduced House Bill 1393 to the Pennsylvania legislature, Pennsylvania’s entry into the arena of other states which have either legalized or are in the process of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. The short title is, “An Act providing for the medical use of marijuana; and repealing provision of law that prohibit and penalize marijuana use.” It has gained momentum and support in the legislature and committee hearings will likely occur later this year. If passed, Pennsylvania will join the ranks of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, all of which have passed the use of medical marijuana into law.
HB 1393’s registration, distribution, and use provisions are the tightest of any existing or proposed piece of medical marijuana legislation in the United States. According to the proposed legislation, registration is through the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Specifically approved medical conditions are specified. Sales tax is applicable. Application for distribution centers is very tightly controlled and limited.
The effectiveness of medical marijuana for the treatment of a number of disorders is no longer in question. Recently, research revealed that the body has its own endocannabinoid system. We produce and have internal receptor sites for cannabinoids just as we produce and have receptors for endorphins which are part of its pain management system. Just as pain management medications augment the bodies pain management abilities, so too do externally introduced cannabinoids augment that naturally occurring body system.
Marijuana was a legal drug in the pharmacopoeia of United States medication 1937. In 1937, in hearings that lasted only two hours over two days, the drug was listed as hazardous and removed from that list. Inaccurate representations in movies such as “Reefer Madness” served to convince the public of its dangers. However, the only physician at the hearings asked the committee to leave the drug on the approved list as he and other physicians believed it had benefits and that further study would reveal more. His request was ignored. The action was politically driven, not science based.
However, use of the drug for medical purposes has received wide spread endorsement from many recognized medical organizations including the Medical Society of the State of New York, the New Mexico Medical Society, the Rhode Island Medical Society, the San Francisco Medical Society, the American Nurses Association, and the American Academy of Family Physicians among others. Medical use has been endorsed by nine state nurses associations. Scholarly research has documented efficacy in medical conditions from AIDS wasting syndrome, nausea management during chemotherapy, and relief of spasms in multiple sclerosis among many others.
All agree that smoking is not the preferred delivery system, and that vaporization of the drug where it is heated sufficiently to release the complex cannabinoids within is a better approach. Natural preparations made from the plant can be equally effective. We need to also remain aware of criminal justice research which has shown that, in states which have legalized the drug for medical purposes, abuse of the drug has not increased and in some cases has declined.
As professional substance abuse counselors, we can anticipate questions about the wisdom of HB 1393 and the potential dangers of marijuana. We should be prepared for them and need to help people differentiate between the use of any drug taken as medicine and the same drug taken for recreation. We have many tragic examples of the recreational abuse of prescription drugs. Prescription tranquilizers and pain pills are among our most serious problems among school-aged youth. We urge people to keep their prescription medications in a safe place for good reason.
Yet, we do not recommend that these drugs be banned simply because they can be abused. They have legitimate value in alleviating pain, curing disease, and treating emotional disorders. We must look on the medicinal use of marijuana the same way. We no more recommend recreational marijuana use than we do recreational morphine use. We understand that a drug which produces a “high” as part of its overall effect does not in itself represent an intolerable hazard. Many prescription medications have that effect. As counselors we know that there is a stark difference between becoming physically dependent on a drug and living the life of a drug addict.
People who suffer physical illness want to feel normal, not high. They should not be denied medications that help achieve that in their lives, despite years of prohibition. Laws, as they currently stand, have kept marijuana out of the hands of physicians. Sadly, they have not succeeded in keeping it out of the hands of twelve year olds.
Ironically, this article is being written in the face of the complete elimination of the states portion of Safe and Drug Free Schools funding by the Federal government, and in the face of a Pennsylvania budget crisis that proposes tens of millions of dollars be eliminated from drug prevention and treatment efforts. Our future ability to reach children and to treat those suffering from addiction is in jeopardy. That, not the medical use of marijuana, is what has put lives in danger.
If you would like to learn more about Pennsylvania’s HB 1393, visit the Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana web site at www.PA4MMJ.org.
If you would like to complete a
short survey on Medical Marijuana, click on the following link:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=wVjWYsbQS0Weq1ady_2bzcQg_3d_3d