How About Medical Marijuana at Gracedale?

One problem plaguing Gracedale and other nursing homes is the high use of psychotropic drugs, condemned by some as a chemical restraint. This is just one of many topics Gracedale Interim Administrator Jennifer D. Stewart-King discussed with NorCo Council last week. But they all began to laugh when Council member John Cusick asked if any consideration has been given to the use of medical marijuana. "No!" said Stewart-King.

Medical professionals there should reconsider. According to the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, "Studies examining older adults that are utilizing medical cannabis legally have demonstrated significant decreases in prescription medication use, most notably a reduction in opioid analgesic usage. As such, medical cannabis should be viewed as an additional option in the clinician's toolbox of therapeutic interventions for symptom relief."

Most nursing homes, however, prohibit medical marijuana because of their reliance on Medicare for funding. The feds prohibit marijuana.

One New York nursing home gets around this by refusing to purchase or store medical cannabis, but allowing residents to store their own stash in a locked container. cannabis medicine. Residents must purchase their cannabis medicine on their own and self-administer or have it administered by family.

If you want to increase Gracedale's census, this is one way to do it.

Bethlehem Tp Approves Medical Marijuana Dispensary

In a few weeks, Pennsylvania's Department of Health will issue up to 12 permits for medical marijuana grower/processors and as many as 27 dispensaries. One of these may be in Bethlehem Township. At their June 5 meeting, Commissioners voted 3-0 in favor of a medical marijuana dispensary in a flex building at 2467 Baglyos Circle.

If the state grants a permit, the facility will be owned and operated by Brooklyn cardiologist Victor Guadagnino and his family. Dr. Guadagnino has practiced medicine in New York for 30 years. His son, Victor, Jr, works with him and has a Master's degree in bioethics. He was the chief witness presented by flamboyant Easton attorney Gary Asteak.

Physician registered with the Medical Marijuana Program may prescribe medical marijuana for patients with specified serious medical conditions, from cancer to epilepsy. The patients themselves will have to be registered and have a prescription.

The marijuana itself is in various forms, but not as a plant to be smoked. It could be a pill, tincture, cream, liquid or oil.

Asteak failed to furnish any samples.

Guadagnino explained that the product will be delivered in package form, supplied by a delivery truck from a grower or processor. It will be stored in a vault that is monitored 24/7, even when the facility is closed. In an open lobby there will be two consultation rooms from which a physician can determine whether a prescription is appropriate. If so, the patient will advance to the dispensary,where his prescription will be filled with the product in closed containers.

In response to questioning from Asteak, Guadagnino stated there would be no grower or processor on site. No outdoor seating. No vending machines. No onsite product use. There would be a single secure entrance for patients. It would be "completely invisible," insisted Asteak.

The dispensary will be inside an industrial park and at least 1000' from any school or daycare. It will, however, be close to a residential area being built.

Maria Cintron, owner of Bikram Yoga at 2471 Baglyos Circle, said that 75-80% of her customers are telling her they will go somewhere else if a medical marijuana dispensary is opened. "I'm here on behalf of my customers," she said, adding that some of them are children between 6-15 years old. She suggested that Guadagnino find another place fora dispensary, and told Commissioners she has invested $300,000 into her business.

"I don't think the Board can direct where businesses are located," Malissa Davis told Cintron. She said that once people see how this business operates, they should be satisfied. Asteak added, "Hopefully, your customers will understand. One day they're going to get old, despite the fact that they do yoga."

Tom Nolan said, "We have no choice. It's a state law."

Solicitor Jim Broughal had previously urged the Township to adopt a medical marijuana ordinance so that the Board has some control over where dispensaries and other marijuana facilities are located.  

Federal law still proscribes the possession and distribution of marijuana, although a 2013 memo from the Department of Justice indicates it will defer to the states unless minors are involved or a dispensary is a pretext for dealing in other drugs.

In addition to Nolan and Davis, Kim Jenkins voted in favor of the dispensary. Michael Hudak and Pat Breslin were absent.  

In other business, Nolan, Davis and Jenkins voted to award the long-awaited Brodhead Road reconstruction project to H and K Group for $2.35 million. H and K was the lowest of three bidders. All three bids were within $7,000 of each other. "We would have been happy with any of the three bidders," said Township engineer Brian Dillman.

H and K will reconstruct 6,500 feet of Brodhead Road, from Township Line Road to Christian Springs Rd. The remaining work will be done by developer Lew Ronca, who is building a warehouse distribution center.

"We should have a brand new Brodhead Road by the end of October," predicted Dillman, who told Commissioners work will start in early July.

Manager Melissa Shafer advised that the Township did receive a $400,000 grant for this work, and that business owners along the road will be required to install ramps.  

Bethlehem Township Adopts Medical Pot Ordinance

Pennsylvania is one of 28 states, along with the District of Columbia, that has legalized medicinal pot. Before the law is implemented next year, municipalities throughout the state are revising their zoning ordinances to designate exactly where marijuana facilities will be permitted. Bethlehem Township adopted its rules at its March 20 Commissioners' meeting, with no discussion from any one. The vote was 4-0.

Under Pennsylvania's medical marijuana law, doctors will be able to prescribe cannabis for 17 different ailments. Northampton and Lehigh County will be limited to one dispensary each, and the pot will be in the form of pills, oil, topical or a liquid that can be vaporized.

Bethlehem Township's ordinance provides for four specific marijuana uses: grower/processor facility (indoor growing and manufacturing building no more than 20,000 sq ft); medical marijuana delivery vehicle office;dispensary (n more than 5,000 sq ft, with indoor garage delivery); and academic clinical research center (must be at an accredited medical school with an acute care hospital). All uses must be secure.

All medical marijuana facilities must be at least 1000' from any school, nursery or day-care center.

Dispensaries are the most heavily regulated use. They can only be open between 8 am and 8 pm. No drive-throughs, outdoor seating or vending machines or deliveries are allowed. The facilities are permitted by conditional use in industrial, general commercial and hospital zones.

Pennsylvania's Department of Health was expecting at least 900 applications to participate in its medical marijuana program by March 20.    

In other business, Commissioners authorized Manager Melissa Shafer to explore the cost of a municipal survey that would poll residents on different topics, including participation in Bethlehem Area Public Library. They authorized four officers to attend training sessions on traffic safety and narcotics  They also approved annual payments to two township youth athletic associations and the Miracle League,which offers a baseball experience to differently-abled children.

Commissioner Pat Breslin was absent.

Medical Marijuana, Anyone?

State Senators Daylin Leach, a Democrat, and Mike Folmer, a republican, have introduced a bill that will legalize the use of an oil from the marijuana plant for medicinal purposes. Instead of the reefer madness we've all come to know and love, this oil contains no THC. So what's the point? Apparently, it helps children suffering from epilepsy.

Although he has not had a seizure in several years, my grandson has had several of these experiences. For years, he was on a medication that is highly narcotic. This has to be better.

Governor tom Corbett would prefer to wait until the Food and Drug Administration weighs in, but that's like waiting for a glacier.

In a letter to Corbett, Leach explains what he means:

Garrett Brann is a 3-year old little boy who suffers from Dravet Syndrome, which is a form of epilepsy. He suffers up to 100 seizures per day. He takes a cocktail of very toxic and addictive drugs that have severe side effects. These drugs do not typically work very well and aren't working for Garrett.

What does work for children with Dravet's is Charlotte's Web, an oil derived from the cannabis plant. This oil is high in cannabinoids (CBDs) which help the children with epilepsy, but contain insufficient levels of THC to intoxicate anyone who uses it. In other words, Charlotte's Web cannot get someone "high". Charlotte's Web has dramatically reduced or eliminated the seizures in children who have had access to it, without side effects, without intoxication, and without addiction. With this medicine, Garrett has a chance at a normal life. Without it, he will die.

Isn't it time to lighten up? I mean, the worst drug in the world is alcohol and I can get that now at Wegmans.