Robert Celt
New Member
Now that Pennsylvania has opened the door to legalized medical marijuana, those with certain ailments are celebrating while others remain concerned about where the road leads.
Even states that preceded ours into legalization can't say precisely how it impacts health care, addiction levels — even the businesses of growing, processing and distributing the drug safely and properly.
Maryland to the south is wrestling with implementation of its new law — about three years ahead of Pennsylvania's — in various areas:
- Who can prescribe the drug? The Maryland House of Delegates has passed legislation to extend that right to dentists, nurses, midwives and podiatrists.
- By which companies and in which communities will the drug be grown and processed? Maryland officials say they received 146 applications for growers' licenses, 124 for processing and 811 for dispensaries.
- How can medical marijuana be used to drive economic development? Peak Harvest Health plans to convert an abandon warehouse and production property in nearby Cumberland, Maryland, into a production plant for marijuana medicines. Could that happen here?
We're still queasy about having the drug move closer to widespread acceptance, given what experts say is marijuana's "gateway" property — that those who use cannabis sometimes move on to harder narcotics.
But we are happy for individuals whose conditions could be improved through marijuana treatment. Those include cancer, chronic pain and epilepsy, Gov. Tom Wolf said in signing the legislation on Sunday.
And maybe the "gateway" concerns will be pushed aside by this potential upside:
A 2014 study at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center found that states that allowed the medical use of marijuana had lower rates of drug overdose deaths, as our John Finnerty reported from Harrisburg.
"States with medical marijuana laws had a 24.8 percent lower average annual opioid overdose death rate compared to states without such laws," researchers said in Finnerty's story Monday.
Scientists speculate that relief found through marijuana treatments kept pain sufferers from turning to opioids such as heroin.
"That may be contrary to what some people think, but I think there is significant evidence that could be the case," said Sen. Gene Yaw, a Lycoming County Republican who is chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Yaw noted that legalizing medical marijuana alone won't by itself stop the wave of heroin deaths.
That will involve finding alternatives to opioids for those who wouldn't be helped by marijuana treatments, remaining diligent on the law-enforcement side, and working to help people fight through their addictions.
But if folks with certain afflictions can find relief without turning to stronger drugs, which could in turn save their lives, then we'll be proud of this moment.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: PA: Much Work Remains To Turn Legalization Of Medical Marijuana Into Good News
Author: Staff
Contact: The Tribune-Democrat
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Tribune-Democrat
Even states that preceded ours into legalization can't say precisely how it impacts health care, addiction levels — even the businesses of growing, processing and distributing the drug safely and properly.
Maryland to the south is wrestling with implementation of its new law — about three years ahead of Pennsylvania's — in various areas:
- Who can prescribe the drug? The Maryland House of Delegates has passed legislation to extend that right to dentists, nurses, midwives and podiatrists.
- By which companies and in which communities will the drug be grown and processed? Maryland officials say they received 146 applications for growers' licenses, 124 for processing and 811 for dispensaries.
- How can medical marijuana be used to drive economic development? Peak Harvest Health plans to convert an abandon warehouse and production property in nearby Cumberland, Maryland, into a production plant for marijuana medicines. Could that happen here?
We're still queasy about having the drug move closer to widespread acceptance, given what experts say is marijuana's "gateway" property — that those who use cannabis sometimes move on to harder narcotics.
But we are happy for individuals whose conditions could be improved through marijuana treatment. Those include cancer, chronic pain and epilepsy, Gov. Tom Wolf said in signing the legislation on Sunday.
And maybe the "gateway" concerns will be pushed aside by this potential upside:
A 2014 study at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center found that states that allowed the medical use of marijuana had lower rates of drug overdose deaths, as our John Finnerty reported from Harrisburg.
"States with medical marijuana laws had a 24.8 percent lower average annual opioid overdose death rate compared to states without such laws," researchers said in Finnerty's story Monday.
Scientists speculate that relief found through marijuana treatments kept pain sufferers from turning to opioids such as heroin.
"That may be contrary to what some people think, but I think there is significant evidence that could be the case," said Sen. Gene Yaw, a Lycoming County Republican who is chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Yaw noted that legalizing medical marijuana alone won't by itself stop the wave of heroin deaths.
That will involve finding alternatives to opioids for those who wouldn't be helped by marijuana treatments, remaining diligent on the law-enforcement side, and working to help people fight through their addictions.
But if folks with certain afflictions can find relief without turning to stronger drugs, which could in turn save their lives, then we'll be proud of this moment.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: PA: Much Work Remains To Turn Legalization Of Medical Marijuana Into Good News
Author: Staff
Contact: The Tribune-Democrat
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Tribune-Democrat
