Yesterday, Republican and Democratic senators in Pennsylvania held a hearing for medical marijuana in the state. After the hearing, the mothers and fathers of sick children who have been pushing for this bill for a year and a half held a press conference and rally for legislators, Wolf administrators and those who need medical marijuana to speak out.
One of the legislators who spoke was State Representative Ed Gainey from Pittsburgh, and he delivered one of the most passionate speeches on this topic. The speech is transcribed below, but to hear the awesomeness of the speech, please jump over to our website.
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Good afternoon, how is everybody doing? No. No. We look like we're tired when we should be energized. Good afternoon, how is everybody doing?
Let me hear you give a big hand, and I need the House to hear this so they know how important it is for Senator Folmer and Daylin Leach for their leadership on Senate Bill 3. I need them to hear you one more time, because I need them to understand that we are hear today to talk about people. Lets give it up for the parents who have come together for compassion to get this moving.
A lot of times I think we forgot why we're elected and why we come here. We're elected by the people, for the people to do the work of the people, and one of the main things we are sent to do is make sure we provide relief for people and whatever field we are entering.
In the House today, we have children, we have vets, we have adults impacted by cancer, by post-traumatic stress, by epilepsy, by MS, and we still cant move Senate Bill 3 through the House because of distorted myths that are not true. Today, it got to stop.
We the government and us the people have to work together. We have to work together to make sure everybody understands that medical marijuana is another tool that we can use to help people.
Lets stop with the distorted facts that there is no research, that there is no reports, that it's a schedule one and we want to hide behind the FDA! Lets move everything out of the way and focus on people, and make sure that we provide another form of relief to the people who need it! THAT'S WHAT GOVERNMENT IS ABOUT. THAT'S WHAT GOVERNMENT IS ABOUT.
Government is about us, the people. So Senator Folmer is right. We need us. You and I. To come together, and let every House member know right now that we will not be denied. That we will continue to fight for what is right, and that's the relief for the people on Pennsylvania!
If 21 over states are doing it and we know it's working, and we know the addictiveness of opium, the addictiveness of Vicodin, we know that is a hundred times more powerful than medical marijuana. IT'S TIME THAT WE PUT THE DISTORTED FACTS IN THEIR PLACE AND CALL A "LIE A LIE!" AND I'M CALLING EVERYBODY WHO IS MAKING IT SEEM THAT MEDICAL MARIJUANA IS A GATEWAY DRUG TO OTHER ADDICTIVE DRUGS, THAT IS A LIE!
Lets do as we were sent to do as representatives. Create relief for the people of Pennsylvania today! Call everybody today and tell them that Senate Bill 3 is alive!