HARRISBURG – House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R-Indiana) today joined an overwhelming majority of his colleagues in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in supporting legislation to permit the controlled use of medical marijuana/cannabis in the Commonwealth.
The House approved an amended version of Senate Bill 3 by a vote of 149-43. The bill now heads back to the Senate for concurrence.
Reed issued the following statement regarding the bill’s passage:
“People are suffering and the federal government has essentially abdicated its responsibility regarding medical marijuana and is forcing the states to deal with the issue.
“We have worked to craft medical marijuana legislation to address the questions and concerns of many of House members. We believe we met the goal as proven by today’s affirmative vote.
“This bill ensures the use of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is tightly regulated from seed to distribution with strong safeguards to prevent its abuse. Among other things, the bill would establish criminal penalties for the diversion of the drug and the falsification of identification cards that would only be issued to patients and caregivers. The legislation would also allow medical marijuana to be administered only through vaporization or in oil or pill form to patients suffering from a number of serious medical conditions, including cancer, AIDS, epilepsy and Parkinson’s disease.
“Children and adults afflicted with these painful and debilitating illnesses, who can potentially benefit from the use of medical marijuana, have been working for its legalization for far too long. It appears their wait may finally be over.”
