No Comments
HARRISBURG, PA — A new poll released by Franklin & Marshall College found that 84% of Pennsylvania voters are in favor of legalizing marijuana. The poll was released just one day after Republicans in the Senate decided not to bring a bill that would legalize medical marijuana in the state to a vote before the summer recess begins.
The poll, released Wednesday, shows continued support for medical marijuana in the state. Previous polls from Franklin & Marshall College found support for medical marijuana at 81% six months ago, up from 76% when the college first began polling on the subject eight years ago.
The findings from Franklin & Marshall’s poll is consistent with two polls conducted by Quinnipiac University and the Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics earlier this year that found 85% of Pennsylvania voters in support medical marijuana.
This week’s poll also found support for Governor Tom Corbett, a long opponent of marijuana reform, remains low, with only 27% of those polled approving of his job performance to date. Looking ahead to the November elections, Corbett’s Democratic challenger Tom Wolf, who supports medical marijuana, is favored by pollsters by a 47% to 25% margin.
The poll was released as Republican leaders in the Pennsylvania Senate failed to bring Senate Bill 1182, the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act, to a vote before the summer recess.
The bill was sent to the floor of the Senate for a vote after unanimously clearing the Senate Law & Justice Committee last week on a 9-0 vote.
While the Senate is expected to consider the bill when they reconvene in September, medical marijuana advocates and patients say that while lawmakers delay, patients are suffering.
“A two month delay could be a death sentence for patients who are waiting and most certainly ensures an abundance of needless suffering for Pennsylvania’s sickest and most venerable,” said one Pennsylvania resident who asked to be identified only as Paula. “It is unconscionable for politicians to be so dismissive of a strongly written bill that can give patients a quality of life. As they take another vacation, their constituents are left to endure the nightmare of symptoms they are living with.”
“While the Senate decides to take non action, my father-in-law lies in an ICU bed,” added Ryan Yeager of Pittsburgh. “His battle with cancer may be coming to an end, but there plenty more out there that need this compassionate treatment, as evidenced by an entirely full oncology wing at the hospital.”
When lawmakers reconvene in the fall, the Senate will consider the bill, where upon approval it will be moved directly to the Senate Appropriations committee. Once it clears Appropriations, it will go back to the full Senate for a second consideration. A bill requires at least three considerations before it can be voted upon by the full Senate. After passing a third reading, the bill would then be assigned to the House for consideration.
If passed, Pennsylvania’s SB 1182 would provide much needed relief to patients statewide. With the passage of New York’s Compassionate Care Act last month, nearly all of Pennsylvania’s neighbors allow medical marijuana in some form.
The bill has seen several changes since it was first introduced, with recent amendments to the bill banning smoking marijuana. Derek Rosenzweig of Philly NORML, the Pennsylvania state affiliate for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has a comprehensive analysis of the bill in it’s most current form at phillynorml.org.
The bill is sponsored in the Senate by Democrat Senator Daylin Leach and and Republican Senator Mike Folmer.
The bill’s companion legislation in the House, House Bill 2182, has 45 cosponsors was introduced in the House on June 25 by state Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks County.
Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act , Daylin Leach , Franklin & Marshall College , Governor Raymond Shafer Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act , Irv Rosenfeld , Jim Cox , medical marijuana , Mike Folmer , PA SB 1182 , Pennsylvania , Pennsylvania marijuana , Pennsylvania medical marijuana , poll , polling , polls , public opinion
84% Support Medical Marijuana in Pennsylvania as Senate Takes Vacation
No comments:
Post a Comment