As the Pennsylvania House of Representatives prepares to vote on amendments to SB 3, the Compassionate Use Act, patients and families will gather at the state capitol building Monday to plead with lawmakers to pass an effective version of the medical marijuana legislation before the end of the session.
Campaign for Compassion will hold a news conference at 12 p.m. in the Main Capitol Rotunda, where patients will be sitting in a makeshift doctors-office-style “waiting room.” One of the speakers at the event will be Becky Witwer of Berks County, whose 1-year-old daughter, Grace, died November 11 of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP).
“I learned that medical cannabis was helping many children who suffer from Dravet Syndrome,” Witwer said. “We were waiting for the law to pass so Grace could try it, but she never got the chance. Please don’t make patients wait any longer — many can’t.”
The Senate approved SB 3 by a vote of 40-7 in May, and Gov. Tom Wolf has said he would sign a medical marijuana bill into law.
WHAT: News conference to call on lawmakers to pass an effective version of SB 3 before the end of the session
WHEN: TODAY, Monday, November 23, 12 p.m. ET
WHERE: Main Rotunda of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building, Harrisburg
WHO: Becky Witwer, Berks County woman whose 1-year-old daughter, Grace, died November 11 of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP)
Brandon Genescritti, Fulton County man suffering from kidney failure
Susan Love, Lancaster County woman whose daughter, Sarah, 20, suffers from autism and Crohn’s disease
Randal Robertson, Cumberland County man suffering from bile duct cancer
Pennsylvania patients, families, 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/
