Like most recreational marijuana advocates, Gary Tokar was hoping for full legalization.
But as Pennsylvania becomes the 24th state to approve medical marijuana, Tokar said he’s focusing on the positive: the men, women and children who will finally be able to choose a natural plant over lab-made pharmaceuticals to treat their ailments.
It’s a development that could provide new treatment options for those who are hurting, and lucrative business opportunities for those who are in the entrepreneur game.
“On the face of it, I’m really excited for it because it’s a step in the right direction. A lot of people in the state now don’t have to move to other states,” Tokar said.
“I’m ecstatic for the people who can now have access to the medicine and don’t have to worry about being arrested.”
Tokar, a three-time candidate for Johnstown City Council, said he has a friend in town whose son has been diagnosed with pervasive development disorder. This friend, he added, would rather give him a natural remedy.
“It’s a harmless plant,” Tokar said. “It doesn’t scare me, and doesn’t bother me, whatsoever.
“(Marijuana users) tend to be pretty nice people.”
Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society Executive Director Patrick Nightingale called the medical marijuana law a piece of “momentous legislation.”
He said it resulted from a true grassroots coalition of both recreational advocates and the parents of children suffering from ailments that can be treated with marijuana.
“They said, We are not going to settle for a bill that benefits our children only,” Nightingale said.
According to Nightingale, the worst part of the legislation is the regulatory fee structure, which includes a $200,000 licensing payment for growers.
Nightingale characterized this as a “one-time revenue grab for the commonwealth.”
“(The fees) are very high,” he said. “It is an expensive process.”
He added that he is somewhat worried that the price of legal marijuana will greatly exceed the price of black market marijuana. This would potentially drive users underground, and destroy legitimate businesses.
Nightingale cited the price of legal marijuana in New Jersey, which is approximately $500 an ounce.
He said marijuana of even higher quality, sold illegally in Pittsburgh, costs only $350 an ounce.
“I don’t know where (Gov.) Chris Christie and his cronies came up with $500 an ounce,” Nightingale said.
Another potential snag, he said, will be if county or municipal officials decide they don’t want to cooperate with this fledgling industry.
“Can they legally discriminate with this bill? No,” he said.
“Can they make life hell? Yes.”
Somerset County commissioners declined to comment on legalization. Tom Chernisky was the only Cambria County commissioner to respond to requests for comment.
“Medical marijuana will provide long overdue relief to patients and families,” he said in an email to Our Town. “It will help treat patients who suffer from cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and other ailments.”
“It is also important to note I only approve this policy for the treatment of chronic conditions.
Marijuana is potentially a gateway drug that can lead to use of other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. In regards to grow sites and dispensaries, we would need to investigate and get the facts to see how this could benefit Cambria County’s economy.”
Illinois passed a bill similar to Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana legislation in 2013. Dan Linn — executive director for the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML — said the movement has stimulated local economies and created approximately 1,000 jobs.
There have also been snares along the way. Linn acknowledged that high regulatory fees created “sticker shock” that prevented many would-be entrepreneurs from entering the business.
And he said that local officials have made life difficult in some areas.
“There were some folks who had very difficult zoning appeals in their communities,” Linn said.
But some are far more optimistic about Pennsylvania’s program.
Chris Walsh, editorial director of the Marijuana Business Daily in Denver, Colorado, said the Keystone State should be far more successful than Illinois in implementing its medical marijuana legislation.
“There’s more business opportunity in Pennsylvania, for sure,” he said. “The inclusion of severe chronic pain (as a qualifying condition) is huge.”
According to Walsh, allowing those currently on opiates to switch to marijuana makes the difference between a small legal market and a massive legal market. It also means that, because there’s more demand, prices should be reasonable.
“Pennsylvania is really shaping up to be one of the biggest marijuana markets, easily on the East Coast, and possibly fifth or sixth in the entire nation,” he said, predicting that the commonwealth and Maryland will dominate the industry in the Atlantic region. “There’s a lot of optimism about this market.”
Walsh, however, echoed Nightingale’s concerns about local counties and municipalities trying to push medical marijuana grows and dispensaries out of areas. He said this is true even in Colorado because some people expect seediness and an increase in crime.
“That never happens,” Walsh said.
“If it’s a well-regulated industry, once it’s been up and running, people kind of forget about them.
There’s not this scary, stereotypical image that people have in their head.”
His prediction for Pennsylvania: $100 million in annual sales.
“(But) it will take a while to get there,” he said.
Medical marijuana legislation may also be reflective of society’s softening attitude toward the plant in general.
A review of The Advocate, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s student newspaper, shows that campus police made approximately 19 marijuana-related arrests between Sept. 16 and April 6.
According to outgoing Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Greenockle, who covered crime on campus for two full academic years, students found with this substance were rarely charged with drug possession.
“In my experience with writing citation and criminal articles, I have never seen a student on the Pitt-Johnstowns campus be charged with anything more than a disorderly conduct when marijuana was involved,” said Greenockle, who has been hired as the cops reporter for The Evening Sun in Hanover. “The only time a student was charged more was when he was suspected of dealing marijuana.”
Campus police Chief Eric Zangaglia did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Windber Borough police Chief Rick Skiles agreed that officers, at least in his department, focus more on opiate abuse, which he believes is a much bigger problem.
He said the cost of testing for small amounts of marijuana, in terms of lab fees and man hours, isn’t worth pursuing in most cases, unless the person found in possession was also suspected of driving under the influence or drug dealing.
“There’s hardly a trip to the crime lab that the minimum isn’t $90,” he said of the cost to his department.
As for marijuana as a medicine, he said: “If it is done and followed by the rules, I don’t have a problem with it.
“Other states have gone and legalized this same thing. Evidently there is enough proof out there.”
The consensus among those interviewed for this report is that it will be at least two years before the regulatory framework is in place to allow legal growth and sales to happen in Pennsylvania.
But the development is at a minimum a relief to parents such as Julie Michaels of Connellsville, whose 6-year-old daughter, Sydney, suffers from a severe epileptic disorder that has caused her to have hundreds of seizures per day.
According to Michaels, her daughter was selected to participate in a federal drug study program that has allowed her to use marijuana medically, and has made major improvements to her quality of life by her amount of seizures. Only 25 children in the entire state were chosen to participate in the study.
Michaels said she and her fellow “mama bears” — parents who fought for the legalization of medical marijuana — were pleasantly surprised by how their lobbying won the hearts and minds of state legislators.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Michaels said. “I’ve learned a lot.”
She added that she, too, has concerns about how the program will implemented.
But she was also too jubilant to go into detail.
“For today, yes, we’re thrilled.”
But as Pennsylvania becomes the 24th state to approve medical marijuana, Tokar said he’s focusing on the positive: the men, women and children who will finally be able to choose a natural plant over lab-made pharmaceuticals to treat their ailments.
It’s a development that could provide new treatment options for those who are hurting, and lucrative business opportunities for those who are in the entrepreneur game.
“On the face of it, I’m really excited for it because it’s a step in the right direction. A lot of people in the state now don’t have to move to other states,” Tokar said.
“I’m ecstatic for the people who can now have access to the medicine and don’t have to worry about being arrested.”
Tokar, a three-time candidate for Johnstown City Council, said he has a friend in town whose son has been diagnosed with pervasive development disorder. This friend, he added, would rather give him a natural remedy.
“It’s a harmless plant,” Tokar said. “It doesn’t scare me, and doesn’t bother me, whatsoever.
“(Marijuana users) tend to be pretty nice people.”
Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society Executive Director Patrick Nightingale called the medical marijuana law a piece of “momentous legislation.”
He said it resulted from a true grassroots coalition of both recreational advocates and the parents of children suffering from ailments that can be treated with marijuana.
“They said, We are not going to settle for a bill that benefits our children only,” Nightingale said.
According to Nightingale, the worst part of the legislation is the regulatory fee structure, which includes a $200,000 licensing payment for growers.
Nightingale characterized this as a “one-time revenue grab for the commonwealth.”
“(The fees) are very high,” he said. “It is an expensive process.”
He added that he is somewhat worried that the price of legal marijuana will greatly exceed the price of black market marijuana. This would potentially drive users underground, and destroy legitimate businesses.
Nightingale cited the price of legal marijuana in New Jersey, which is approximately $500 an ounce.
He said marijuana of even higher quality, sold illegally in Pittsburgh, costs only $350 an ounce.
“I don’t know where (Gov.) Chris Christie and his cronies came up with $500 an ounce,” Nightingale said.
Another potential snag, he said, will be if county or municipal officials decide they don’t want to cooperate with this fledgling industry.
“Can they legally discriminate with this bill? No,” he said.
“Can they make life hell? Yes.”
Somerset County commissioners declined to comment on legalization. Tom Chernisky was the only Cambria County commissioner to respond to requests for comment.
“Medical marijuana will provide long overdue relief to patients and families,” he said in an email to Our Town. “It will help treat patients who suffer from cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and other ailments.”
“It is also important to note I only approve this policy for the treatment of chronic conditions.
Marijuana is potentially a gateway drug that can lead to use of other drugs such as heroin and cocaine. In regards to grow sites and dispensaries, we would need to investigate and get the facts to see how this could benefit Cambria County’s economy.”
Illinois passed a bill similar to Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana legislation in 2013. Dan Linn — executive director for the Illinois chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML — said the movement has stimulated local economies and created approximately 1,000 jobs.
There have also been snares along the way. Linn acknowledged that high regulatory fees created “sticker shock” that prevented many would-be entrepreneurs from entering the business.
And he said that local officials have made life difficult in some areas.
“There were some folks who had very difficult zoning appeals in their communities,” Linn said.
But some are far more optimistic about Pennsylvania’s program.
Chris Walsh, editorial director of the Marijuana Business Daily in Denver, Colorado, said the Keystone State should be far more successful than Illinois in implementing its medical marijuana legislation.
“There’s more business opportunity in Pennsylvania, for sure,” he said. “The inclusion of severe chronic pain (as a qualifying condition) is huge.”
According to Walsh, allowing those currently on opiates to switch to marijuana makes the difference between a small legal market and a massive legal market. It also means that, because there’s more demand, prices should be reasonable.
“Pennsylvania is really shaping up to be one of the biggest marijuana markets, easily on the East Coast, and possibly fifth or sixth in the entire nation,” he said, predicting that the commonwealth and Maryland will dominate the industry in the Atlantic region. “There’s a lot of optimism about this market.”
Walsh, however, echoed Nightingale’s concerns about local counties and municipalities trying to push medical marijuana grows and dispensaries out of areas. He said this is true even in Colorado because some people expect seediness and an increase in crime.
“That never happens,” Walsh said.
“If it’s a well-regulated industry, once it’s been up and running, people kind of forget about them.
There’s not this scary, stereotypical image that people have in their head.”
His prediction for Pennsylvania: $100 million in annual sales.
“(But) it will take a while to get there,” he said.
Medical marijuana legislation may also be reflective of society’s softening attitude toward the plant in general.
A review of The Advocate, the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s student newspaper, shows that campus police made approximately 19 marijuana-related arrests between Sept. 16 and April 6.
According to outgoing Editor-in-Chief Kaitlin Greenockle, who covered crime on campus for two full academic years, students found with this substance were rarely charged with drug possession.
“In my experience with writing citation and criminal articles, I have never seen a student on the Pitt-Johnstowns campus be charged with anything more than a disorderly conduct when marijuana was involved,” said Greenockle, who has been hired as the cops reporter for The Evening Sun in Hanover. “The only time a student was charged more was when he was suspected of dealing marijuana.”
Campus police Chief Eric Zangaglia did not return a phone call requesting comment.
Windber Borough police Chief Rick Skiles agreed that officers, at least in his department, focus more on opiate abuse, which he believes is a much bigger problem.
He said the cost of testing for small amounts of marijuana, in terms of lab fees and man hours, isn’t worth pursuing in most cases, unless the person found in possession was also suspected of driving under the influence or drug dealing.
“There’s hardly a trip to the crime lab that the minimum isn’t $90,” he said of the cost to his department.
As for marijuana as a medicine, he said: “If it is done and followed by the rules, I don’t have a problem with it.
“Other states have gone and legalized this same thing. Evidently there is enough proof out there.”
The consensus among those interviewed for this report is that it will be at least two years before the regulatory framework is in place to allow legal growth and sales to happen in Pennsylvania.
But the development is at a minimum a relief to parents such as Julie Michaels of Connellsville, whose 6-year-old daughter, Sydney, suffers from a severe epileptic disorder that has caused her to have hundreds of seizures per day.
According to Michaels, her daughter was selected to participate in a federal drug study program that has allowed her to use marijuana medically, and has made major improvements to her quality of life by her amount of seizures. Only 25 children in the entire state were chosen to participate in the study.
Michaels said she and her fellow “mama bears” — parents who fought for the legalization of medical marijuana — were pleasantly surprised by how their lobbying won the hearts and minds of state legislators.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Michaels said. “I’ve learned a lot.”
She added that she, too, has concerns about how the program will implemented.
But she was also too jubilant to go into detail.
“For today, yes, we’re thrilled.”
No comments:
Post a Comment