Legislation to allow for the physician-authorized use of cannabis is pending before state lawmakers. Representative Mark Cohen has filed legislation, House Bill 1181, to enact statewide legal protections for qualified patients who are authorized by their physician to engage in cannabis therapy.

The proposal seeks to establish a network of state-regulated compassion centers to provide cannabis to patients. Qualified patients would also be able to grow specified quantities of cannabis in private. This measure has been referred to the House Committee on Health, but has yet to be scheduled for a hearing. You can view the full text of this proposal here.

According to a May 2013 Franklin and Marshall statewide poll, 82 percent of Pennsylvanians favor allowing doctors to authorize specified amounts of marijuana for patients suffering from serious illnesses. Despite this, Governor Corbett recently went on record stating his opposition to medical marijuana. He said, “This is a gateway to many other drugs. I believe we have a drug problem in this country. We have a drug problem in the state of Pennsylvania.”

We encourage you to contact the Governor directly and urge him to support this sensible legislation by calling 717-787-2500 or emailing Governor@pa.gov. You can also enter your zip code below to quickly and easily contact your Representative and urge him or her to support this measure.

NORML will continue to update you in the coming weeks as this proposal moves forward.

Click HERE to write your representatives in support of this bill!

Added on April 15, 2013House Bill 1181Actions That Make Difference, Blog