Pocono News Section

Medical Marijuana for PA?

Medical Marijuana for PA? - Wednesday, March 25, 2009 at 7:51PM EST

WILKES-BARRE -- State Rep. Mark Cohen is hoping to put forth a bill next month that would legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania. Cohen says there is enough scientific evidence and enough public support to get the measure passed.
Cohen believes legalizing the drug for medical purposes would help treat patients of cancer and AIDS and bring in $25 million a year into state coffers.

A dozen other states have have passed similar laws on medical marijuana and all have run into some form of difficulty in it's implementation.

Critics say the American Medical Association says there is very little medical value in marijuana. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has even linked marijuana use as a major risk in causing a certain type of testicular cancer.

How would Cohen's bill be written? How would prescriptions for marijuana be handled? How much could a person legally have? Is marijuana a gateway drug and will this measure lead to more problems? With other legal pain killers available, does marijuana really need to be legalized?

WYOU Interactive discusses the issues with Rep. Cohen and Allen St. Pierre of NORML.