Citing suffering children and traumatized veterans, Gov. Tom Wolf adamantly defended Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law and the need it serves in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Wolf’s letter came as a response to a letter from Sessions. It directly asks Congress to undo federal medical marijuana protections that have been in place since 2014, The Washington Post reports.
To undo the protections, as Sessions is suggesting, would mean allowing federal funds to impede states’ efforts to implement their own laws regarding the “use, distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana.”
Wolf signed the law creating Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program in April 2015, and the state continues to review applications for permits while refining rules of the program.
Sessions cited a “historic drug epidemic” and “potentially long-term uptick in violent crime” in his letter.
Wolf fired back with his reasons for supporting the legislation, which he says will help kids who suffer from seizures and veterans who seek relief from the effects of their post-traumatic stress, among others.
“Since I signed the legislation, we have taken very careful and deliberate steps to implement the law so that those who are suffering can get relief while ensuring that the state is a responsible steward of the program,” read Wolf’s letter.
Wolf, a Democrat, notes the legislation was supported by both Democrats and Republicans.
“Given the bipartisan and medical consensus for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania and many other states, I am disturbed to know that you are actively pursuing a change in federal law to go after medical marijuana suppliers,” he writes.
The letter concluded with the threat of legal action if Sessions continued to complicate the progression of implementing the state’s law.
“If you seek to further disrupt our ability to establish a legal way to deliver relief of medical marijuana to our citizens, I will ask the Attorney General of Pennsylvania to take legal action to protect our residents and state sovereignty,” Wolf warned.
credit:lehighvalleylive.com
