Senate Bill 1182, which would legalize medical marijuana, has not moved from committee since its January introduction
By Mark Walters
For the Daily Record/Sunday News
Matt Sharrer, center, and wife Angie, center right, were among the supporters of cannabis reform at rally Monday at the Capitol rotunda in Harrisburg. The Sharrers have a 9-year-old daughter, Annie, who suffers from a form of epilepsy, a condition that cannabis oil can treat. (Jeff Lautenberger — For the Evening Sun)
Many families with children suffering from forms of epilepsy and other conditions attended a cannabis reform rally at the Capitol rotunda in Harrisburg on Monday. (Jeff Lautenberger — For the Evening Sun)
HARRISBURG — Angie and Matt Sharrer do not understand why kids in Pennsylvania are being denied access to natural medication.
And the Tyrone Township, Adams County, couple think it is a shame that they have to plaster pictures of their 9-year-old daughter, Annie, on a posterboard to prove a point.
But the pictures of Annie help tell a story, and that story — full of watching their daughter’s seizures, medication trials and errors and doctor visits — is one that has been frustrating for the Sharrers as they continue to lobby state lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana.
The Sharrers stood behind state Sen. Daylin Leach on Monday morning as the Montgomery County Democrat spoke to roughly 200 people in the Capitol rotunda at the Keystone Cannabis Reform Rally.
Along with Sen. Mike Folmer, a Lebanon County Republican, Leach co-sponsored Senate Bill 1182, which would legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. The bill has not moved from the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee since its Jan. 15 introduction.
The Sharrers were joined at the rally by dozens of families of children who suffer from epilepsy, as well as adults suffering from chronic pain, all of whom think medical marijuana could be the ticket to a better life. Or at least one with less pain.
Courtney Parker, a 35-year-old Lancaster County woman, said she takes 10 medications for her back pain from a spinal injury she suffered when she was 15. Five days without it, Parker said, and she cannot walk.
Parker, who cares for six kids, said she does not want to spend the rest of her life on pharmaceuticals.
“I feel like medical marijuana would be a safer route than narcotics” she said. “But if I I used a safer medication, I’d be a criminal.”
Many lawmakers remain hesitant to vote for legalizing a drug that is heavily restricted by federal policies. Because of its Schedule 1 classification, marijuana is believed to be unsafe, have no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
Dozens of supporters hold signs in support of cannabis reform Monday during a rally in Harrisburg. (Jeff Lautenberger — For the Evening Sun)
Derek Rosenzweig, a 30-year-old marijuana activist from Bucks County, said marijuana fails all three of the requirements to make it a Schedule 1 controlled substance.
“Marijuana should be fully regulated and legalized,” Rosenzweig said after the rally. “It doesn’t hurt anybody and it’s safer than caffeine.”
Rosenzweig said his father, Louis Rosenzweig, suffers from reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a chronic pain disorder that is not alleviated through a nerve block, opiate-based drugs or other inpatient treatments.
Rosenzweig would like his father to be able to use medical marijuana for pain treatment, but if the bill fails to move, Louis Rosenzweig will not be able to use it.
Leach said he is tired of seeing patients take a revolving cocktail of dangerous and addictive medications with horrible side effects.
“If this was a derivative of any other plant, it would be on the shelf of every CVS,” Leach said about marijuana.
Leach derided Gov. Tom Corbett for not being more aggressive in supporting marijuana reform.
Corbett has said he will look to the United States Food and Drug Administration as the entity that ensures the efficacy and safety of cannabidiol oil, or CBD, a non-psychoactive marijuana compound, said Jay Pagni, spokesman for the governor.
Corbett has directed the state’s Physician General to work with families in sharing information about what the FDA finds based on clinical trials, Pagni said.
But Leach said Corbett needs to stop hiding behind the FDA. He also took issue with the Republican governor’s stance on marijuana while pushing for alcohol privatization and expansion.
“One is addictive and one isn’t,” Leach said, comparing alcohol to marijuana. “One makes you want to drive fast and get in fights while the other makes you want to eat sour cream and onion chips and listen to the Doors.”
After the rally, the Sharrers met with state Sen. Rich Alloway, R-Chambersburg, to discuss a May 1 town hall meeting at Southeastern Adams Volunteer Emergency Services.
They stood in the quickly emptying Capitol rotunda with their 2-by-4 sign, the top half displaying pictures of their daughter smiling and looking healthy, the bottom half featuring pictures of her in the hospital or seizing.
“Childhood should look like this,” the top half read. “Not this …” the bottom half added.
Angie Sharrer used to be a teacher, but now is a stay-home mom. Advocating for her daughter to gain access to alternative medicine has become her full-time job.
Like the Sharrers, Les Stark was encouraged by the number of people who came out Monday morning in support of marijuana reform.
Stark, a 48-year-old Ephrata man, served as emcee for the rally. He spends all his time as a hemp and marijuana activist.
Actions like those taken at Monday’s rally will contribute to reaching a tipping point for marijuana reform in Pennsylvania, Stark said after the rally. He is confident that if that tipping point is not reached by the end of 2014, it will happen next year with a new governor.
“We’re bringing this to the halls of power in Harrisburg,” Stark said during the rally. “Change is coming to Pennsylvania. Victory is right around the corner.”
Mark Walters covers Adams County for The Evening Sun. Contact him at 717-637-3736 ext. 147.
Marijuana rally pushes for legalization, reform
No comments:
Post a Comment