The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
State Rep. Mike Vereb announces support for medical marijuana
LOWER PROVIDENCE — Following a panel discussion on Wednesday at the Lower Providence Township building, State Representative Mike Vereb announced his support for a senate bill that would that would allow doctors in Pennsylvania to prescribe medical marijuana to patients.
The panel, comprised of State Senator Mike Folmer (R-48), Erin McCann and Crystal Young — mothers who have sons who would benefit from medicinal marijuana — and Dr. Jahan Marcu, a researcher in the field of medicinal marijuana, discussed the pros of legalizing the plant’s extract, which could be used to help treat several diseases including cancer and posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as treat and potentially stop seizures.
“Your story is something no law maker can turn their back on,” Vereb said to McCann and Young, who shared stories of their children’s struggles with seizures during the panel.
Vereb did not promise results but did promise his voice of support on the house floor.
Before the panel discussion, Vereb (R-150) said he was leaning towards supporting the bill but would like to know more.
“This is obviously a product that, used properly, can help people in pain,” Vereb said.
However, before the panel discussion, he noted that he did not support the recreational use of the plant.
“In no way do I support conventional use of marijuana. But this particular legislation is the extract of the plant,” Vereb said.
Senate Bill 1182, which was introduced by Folmer and co-sponsored by State Senator Daylin Leach (D-17), would allow doctors in Pennsylvania to prescribe medical marijuana to patients suffering from a variety of diseases.
Folmer said it isn’t a matter of politics to help sick people get the medicine they need.
“This isn’t a Republican issue. This isn’t a Democrat issue,” Folmer said. “This is a people issue.”
Folmer said he does not want the law to be limited to any one disease, citing Marcu when he said the marijuana can help with epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer.
“We knew about the qualities of this plant for a very, very, very long time,” Folmer said. “I believe that this helps sick people.”
Marcu, who received his PhD from Temple University after studying the effects of medical marijuana, said there are thousands of documents researching the benefits of medical marijuana and that he was surprised by the number of doctors who support marijuana use, but cannot do anything about it.
“I was surprised that doctors can’t tell patients where to get cannabis from,” Marcu said.
Marcu said he has spent the last couple of years researching medicinal marijuana and learned that in preliminary studies (not done on humans), the THC extract has helped to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. He said the number of studies supporting marijuana to treat disease is in the thousands and he questions those who say there is not enough research on the subject.
Marcu said if legalized, there would be checks and balances to make sure the plants used for medicine would be without toxins and would not cause any harm to patients.
“Cannabis can be grown safely like any other agricultural product,” Marcu said.
Folmer said he is pushing to get a senate floor vote on the bill by Sept. 16. Medical marijuana is legal in 23 other states.