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for PA The Barry Busch Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act of 2009

the_man

the_man

Member
Action Alert

The PA House of Representatives' members have been back in Harrisburg since March 8th, nearly a week now. During the December 2nd hearing in the Health and Human Services committee, both Representatives Frank Oliver (D) and Matt Baker (R) promised us that the HHS committee would hold at least one more hearing before they'd vote on it and forward it to the floor of the House. We've been waiting and waiting for a date and time for the next hearing, and we're still waiting. I've even spoken with the person who is directly in charge of scheduling these hearings. The way things work, she is told by Rep. Oliver to schedule a hearing on a subject, and she determines the best time and day. Rep. Oliver and the other members of the HHS committee need to be reminded that we're still waiting for action on this issue. It's time that we as a group, say "we've waited long enough" and demand they schedule this hearing.

There are 26 members of the Health and Human Services committee. Outlined below are their positions on the subject as we understand them. Please take 5 minutes and call each of them at their Harrisburg office phone number.

Here is a sample message that you can deliver to the person answering the phone - usually a secretary or staffer:
"Hello, my name is NAME and I'm calling from LOCATION (County, city, town). On December 2nd, the House Health and Human Services committee held a hearing on HB1393, the Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. During the hearing, which heard expert testimony from advocates, physicians, religious leaders, and patients, Reps. Oliver and Baker promised to hold another hearing. It's been about 3 months since the last hearing, and I am calling to ask you to make medical marijuana a priority in the Health and Human Services committee by scheduling the next hearing as soon as possible so that the HHS committee can vote on the subject. The full House of Representatives deserves to debate and vote on this important subject which affects hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians."

Key:
Sponsor/Co-sponsor
For the bill
Against the bill
No opinion/unsure


Party (D)
Name (D)
District (D)
District Phone Number Harrisburg Phone Number Medical Position (D)

D Mark Cohen
202 215-924-0895 717-787-4117 PRIMARY SPONSOR

R Matthew Baker
68 570-724-1390 717-772-5371 HHS Co-Chairman

D Frank Oliver
195 215-684-3738 717-787-3480 HHS Co-Chairman

R Douglas Reichley
134 610-965-9933 717-787-1000 HHS

D Thaddeus Kirkland
159 610-876-6420 717-787-5881 HHS

D Paul Drucker
157 610-631-2865 717-705-2003 HHS

D Louise Bishop
192 215-879-6625 717-783-2192 HHS

R Nicholas Micozzie
163 610-259-2820 717-783-8808 HHS

D Ken Smith
112 570-342-2710 717-783-1359 HHS

D Jake Wheatley
19 412-471-7760 717-783-3783 HHS

R Mauree Gingrich
101 717-270-1905 717-783-1815 HHS

R Gene DiGirolamo
18 215-750-1017 717-783-7319 HHS

D Eddie Pashinski
121 570-825-5934 717-783-0686 HHS

D Tony Payton Jr
179 215-744-7901 717-787-1354 HHS

D Smith McIlvaine
156 610-696-4990 717-705-1922 HHS

R Karen Beyer
131 610-791-6270 717-783-1673 HHS

R Seth Grove
196 717-767-3947 717-783-2655 HHS

R Katharine Watson
144 215-674-0500 717-787-5452 HHS

D Ronald Waters
191 215-748-6712 717-772-9850 HHS

D John Myers
201 215-849-6896 717-787-3181 HHS

D Kathy Manderino
194 215-482-8726 717-787-1254 HHS

R Kerry Benninghoff
171 814-355-1300 717-783-1918 HHS

D Tim Seip
125 570-624-3145 717-772-5771 HHS

D Vanessa Lowery Brown
190 215-879-6615 717-783-3822 HHS

R Katie True
41 717-295-5050 717-705-7161 HHS

R Bryan Cutler
100 717-786-4551 717-783-6424 HHS


If every person on our email membership list (including and especially you) calls these Committee members, that's over 1,500 calls to each member. I believe with volume like that coming in, they will begin the process of scheduling the hearing ASAP.

If the person on the phone tells you the representative's position one way or another, PLEASE forward that information to us (info@phillynorml.org) so we can keep this list up-to-date.

We already have lined up a few law enforcement members, a researcher, and a couple of physicians to testify, but they need to be given the opportunity. Please take a few minutes to ensure that this next hearing takes place soon and that the issue gets the attention it deserves.

Thank you for your continued support, and keep checking back at our websites. We are continually adding more information, resources, and event notices.

Sincerely,
Derek Rosenzweig
 
the_man

the_man

Member
Breaking: Medical Marijuana bill will be introduced for the first time in the state Senate May 4th with an 11AM Press Conference in Harrisburg!
 
G

growfr

Member
I don't think lawyers want hemp legalized either. Look at it this way, every time someone gets pinched on a bullshit charge these are the guys that make all the $. I was talking to some poor slob that got pulled over and blew .093. When all was said & done, he spent over $7000 on legal fees. One of the top new industries is privatized prisons. Legalization would hurt their profits. We need to call these politicians on their shit. Big pharma controls PA politics. Since I've started using weed (3 years ago) to control my back pain, I have only taken a weeks worth of antibiotics, 4 Advil and 2 chiropractic visits. I used to go to the chiro twice a week
 
S

Sojourner

Member
aug 19 HB1393 hearing--- live stream

aug 19 HB1393 hearing--- live stream

I'm surprised no one else has posted this. I just found out yesterday that there's going to be a public hearing on this bill. It starts aug 19, 3:00pm eastern time. Direct link to stream:
http://www.phillynorml.org/medijuana/pages/view_live_video

Thanks to coordination between PhillyNORML, PittsburghNORML, PA4MMJ, and the PA House HHS committee scheduler, our lineup of people who will testify in favor of HB1393 - the Barry Busch Compassionate Use Act - during Thursday's hearing so far includes:

* Dr. Cyril Wecht, one of the nation's most respected forensic pathologists, will testify at he hearing. Wecht said today, "I have personally performed approximately 17000 autopsies during my 50 year career as a forensic pathologist. I have reviewed, supervised or signed off on 36000 other autopsy reports, many of which have emanated from jurisdictions throughout the United States. I have never diagnosed as a cause of death ‘acute cannabinoid toxicity’, nor, in all the other cases that I have reviewed have I ever seen such a post-mortem diagnosis."

* Patrick Nightingale Esq. is a former Assistant DA in Pittsburgh. He is on the Board of directors at Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana PA4MMJ and co-founded PittsburghNORML. He commented today, “We are honored to add to the Legislative Record the testimony of such a renowned group of individuals.”

“We believe Dr. Wecht's testimony will provide compelling evidence that marijuana can and is used safely and does not pose the risks of overdose and death commonly associated with opiate based medications such as oxycontin, fentanyl, vicodin and percoset."

* Dr. Lester Grinspoon is Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Grinspoon has written extensively on medial marijuana including the book Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine. Grinspoon will appear at the hearing to testify via internet video conferencing.

* Jack Cole spent 26 years with the New Jersey State police. He worked for 14 years in narcotics, much of it undercover. Cole went on to found the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition LEAP and will testify in favor of medical marijuana.

* Sgt. Matt Rite is a 22-year-old Iraq war veteran. Ready to re-deploy with his unit, he was given a general discharge after testing positive for THC. The federal Veterans Affairs Administration recently addressed medical marijuana use. If vets are registered in a state authorized medical marijuana program they will face no internal sanctions.


Plus there will be a number of in-absentia written testimonies. The hearing will be viewable at http://www.pa4mmj.org (there will be a link to view it on the main page).



--------------------------------------



The Pennsylvania House Health and Human Services Committee will hold a satellite hearing on medical marijuana in Pittsburgh, PA on August 19, 2010.

HHS Committee Chair Rep. Frank Oliver issued a memo yesterday:

Please be advised that on Thursday, August 19, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. in the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health at 130 Desoto Street, Room G-23, Pittsburgh, PA 15320, there will be a public hearing on House Bill 1393.

Representative Mark B. Cohen introduced HB1393 and the first public hearings took place in Harrisburg last December. Residents living with chronic medical conditions, doctors, medical professionals and attorneys testified in favor of the bill. Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ) is a statewide non-profit advocacy group promoting passage of the bill. Patrick Nightingale Esq., a criminal defense attorney in Pittsburgh, serves on the Board of Directors for PA4MMJ and coordinates efforts in Western Pennsylvania.

Nightingale commented on the memo, "We at Pittsburgh NORML and Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana are thrilled to learn of the upcoming hearing. We have heard from dozens of current medicinal patients or potential medicinal cannabis patients - veterans, retired school teachers, young people, grandparents, professionals and blue collar workers - all united by the belief that marijuana can provide relief for their medical conditions."

Nightingale added, "We believe that passage of the Barry Busch Compassionate Use Act will greatly benefit the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania just as it benefits the citizens of 14 other states and the District of Columbia who's legislatures have enacted medicinal marijuana laws."

A Franklin & Marshall poll conducted recently shows that 80% of PA residents support the medical marijuana legislation.

The twenty-six-member House HHS committee includes HB 1393's sponsor Rep. Cohen and co-sponsor Rep. Tony Payton Jr.

Senator Daylin Leach introduced the companion bill, SB 1350, earlier this year. Senate committee hearings are expected in the fall, and Senator Jim Ferlo of the Pittsburgh area recently co-sponsored the medical marijuana legislation.

Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana will be holding rally events, information seminars and fundraisers across the Commonwealth to raise awareness for HB 1393 and SB 1350.

PA4MMJ welcomes the opportunity to put legislators and the media in contact with local patients and cannabis experts.

CONTACT: Pittsburgh: Patrick Nightingale pknlaw@mac.com 412-225-7959, Philadelphia: Derek Rosenzweig derek.rosenzweig@gmail.com 215-586-3483
Click to expand...
 
Batboy

Batboy

Member
I think it's safe to say that this bill is now dead with a lame duck assembly and governor, and a lobby that is probably licking its wounds after Nov 2nd's initiative losses. Hopefully Prop 19's loss won't scare away future congressmen from reintroducing a mmj or legalization bill in PA in 2011 and beyond (hopefully with better terms than h1393).

This thread hasn't been updated since the hastily planned Health and Human Services subcommittee hearing that took place on Aug 19. I thought that some of you might be interested in the transcript -- I found it fascinating. It can be a little hard to read in places because it's a direct transcript, and sometimes the spoken word doesn't translate exactly:

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/tr/transcripts/2010_0131T.pdf

To me, the most interesting parts are the statements and questions of the two chairman, Myers and Wheatley. They seemed surprisingly open in the discussion and at one point, while discussing the slippery slope of medical to legalization and the crime relating to continued prohibition, Myers exclaims 'go call someone in CA and tell them to vote for Prop 19.' Both chairman were re-elected to 2 year terms yesterday.
 
the_man

the_man

Member
Well since i thought this thread was deleted from the PA forum. I guess we can continue on then.

1. HB 1393 and SB1350 will Die in the 2010 session they never made it out of the committees. They will be reintroduced for the 2011 session.

2. What we need right now is Money, testimony and letters written see post 1

3. Pittsburgh Norml ‎630 pm tonight come meet the best people in pittsburgh... Ava side of the Shadow lounge... All new t-shirts, patches, stickers ... FREE information about current MMJ activity ... JOIN US NOW!!!

4.Join a local chapter of Norml ether Philly or Pittsburgh this way the money you give will stay 100% in PA
 
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