Rep. Turzai: Please Put Medical Cannabis on House Agenda

Hundreds of thousands of people across Pennsylvania have a condition which could be helped by treatment using some form of medical cannabis. Cannabis is one of the oldest medicines in the world, and is the safest therapeutically active substance known to mankind. It has been scientifically studied in great detail. Cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy and seizures, nausea, Alzheimers, ALS, Cronh's Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, chronic pain, arthritis, glaucoma, dementia, depression, PTSD, and many other conditions are all at least partially treatable with cannabis.

Healthcare practitioners need to have this medicine available as a treatment option for their patients. For many patients, including many young children with forms of intractable epilepsy such as Dravet Syndrome, they face the possibility of death in the time it takes the legislature to act. For the rest, cannabis is the best medicinal hope remaining for re-gaining - at least partially - a normal life. Many times, cannabis can be a better treatment option than conventional pharmaceuticals.

There is nothing worse than watching someone you care about suffer, except when you have the ability to do something to help. You have the ability to help, simply by making medical cannabis a priority for the remaining days in the 2013-2014 House session. We hereby request that House leadership immediately put HB2182 (Rep. Cox) - or SB1182 (Sens. Folmer & Leach), if it has already passed the Senate by now - onto the House legislative agenda for consideration.