Lawmakers react to updated medical marijuana program progress – ABC27

HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) A dozen applicants that applied to grow and process medical marijuana in Pennsylvania have been approved by Pennsylvanias Department of Health.

The major step in developing a medical marijuana program in Pennsylvania will be followed by an announcement next week about the first round of dispensary permits.

We live in a world of seizures, and epilepsy, and medications that dont always work, Cara Salemme said at the Capitol on Tuesday.

Salemmes son has epilepsy. She says they have been fighting the disease and for medical marijuana for five years.

We know hes a complicated case and were going to need more access to comprehensive medication, Salemme said.

On Tuesday, the Department of Health announced the 12 permits to businesses looking to grow medical marijuana.

These are the creme of the crop, the folks who won. The people who have every T crossed, and every I dotted, Sen. Daylin Leach said.

Leach sponsored the medical marijuana bill, which was signed into law last year.

In the south central region, growers in Fulton and Franklin County were awarded permits. Ilera Healthcare in Waterfall and Grassroots Cannabis in Chambersburg.

This is what we want for the state of Pennsylvania. We want a smooth transition to this industry, and we want the best people involved in getting this off the ground, Leach said.

The Department of Health will spend the next six months helping the growers become operational. Growers can not grow until the department tells them they are operational. The department also requires the growers to grow medical marijuana in an indoor, enclosed, secure facility.

Im going to stand at the counter and let an employee know that Im there to pick up medicine for my son, finally, Salemme said.

Leach began his fight for medical marijuana following years ago. Following Tuesdays progress update, he said, in the end it is still all about the patients.

Theyre going to leave their homes today and theyre going to start to build a grow facility, and were going to start getting medicine to patients, Leach said.

The Department of Health predicts patients will have access to medical marijuana in 2018.

Medical marijuana is not supported by all Pennsylvania lawmakers. Rep. Matt Baker is chairman of the health committee. He released the following statement to ABC 27 news:

A past evaluation by several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use.

Marijuana should not bypass the US process for drug approvals for medical use. All medications, particularly those containing controlled substances, should become available only after having satisfied the rigorous criteria of the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process. That process has been carefully constructed over the past century to protect patient health and safety. There are compelling reasons to hold medical marijuana to the same standard that has served our nation well for the past century. The state laws that approved marijuana as a medicine did so through a political process rather than through a scientific process. This is unwise not only for medical marijuana users but it sets a dangerous precedent for other medicines seeking to bypass the standard of proven safety and efficacy.

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Lawmakers react to updated medical marijuana program progress - ABC27