A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania legislators and a member of the governor’s executive staff will join a group of seriously ill patients and their family members at a rally Tuesday in support of ending the wait for legal access to medical marijuana.
State Sens. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) and Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery), Reps. Ed Gainey (D-East Liberty) and Mike Regan (R-Dillsburg), and Pennsylvania Director of Planning and Policy John Hanger will participate in a news conference at 1 p.m. ET in the Main Rotunda of the State Capitol Building. Patients with cancer, chronic pain, and PTSD, as well as the mothers of several children suffering from epilepsy, will discuss the challenges they have endured while waiting for the House of Representatives to adopt medical marijuana legislation. The Senate approved a medical marijuana bill on May 12.
“It’s been about 130 days since the Senate bill passed, and we’re still waiting on the House to take action,” said Cara Salemme of Hanover, whose son, Jackson, suffers from encephalitis and febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES). “My son has had to use 18 doses of rescue medication, he’s visited the hospital five times, and on two occasions I thought he’d taken his last breath. We simply cannot wait any longer.”
WHAT: News conference and rally in support of ending the wait for legal access to medical marijuana in Pennsylvania
WHEN: Tuesday, September 22, 2015, 1 p.m. ET
WHERE: Main Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building, Harrisburg
WHO: Sen. Mike Folmer
Sen. Daylin Leach
Rep. Ed Gainey
Rep. Mike Regan
John Hanger, Pennsylvania Director of Planning and Policy
Latrisha Bentch, Harrisburg mother of a child with mesial temporal sclerosis
Christine Brann, Hummelstown mother of a child with epilepsy
Jason Cole, Pittsburgh cancer patient
Julie Michaels, Connellsville PTSD patient
Cara Salemme, Hanover mother of child with encephalitis and epilepsy
Angela Sharrer, New Oxford mother of a child with epilepsy
Louise Sherman, Bucks County mother of a child with epilepsy
Luke Shultz, Bernville chronic pain patient
Dana Ulrich, Reinholds mother of a child with epilepsy
Additional patients, their family members, and advocates
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Campaign for Compassion is a group of seriously ill patients and their loved ones, medical practitioners, and advocates that works to educate the public about the benefits of medical cannabis and to enact a comprehensive medical cannabis law in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit https://www.campaign4compassion.com/.