Pee ess Senate of Pennsylvania October 22, 2014 ‘The Honorable D. Peter Johnson President, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association 103 South Second Street Lewisburg PA 17837 Dear Peter, As you may have heard, on September 24, 2014, the Pennsylvania Senate overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 1182, which would create a protocol for people with certain medical conditions to acquire medical cannabis. While the House of Representatives ran out of time to address the issue, I believe that we have, by a significant margin, the votes needed to pass the bill when the House considers it in the spring. While Govemor Corbett has objections, there is, as of the date of this letter, a reasonable chance that we will soon have a governor with a different perspective. Thus, I believe there is an excellent chance that sick people will be legally able to get medicine that helps them by early 2015 In the meantime, parents whose children are suffering from devastating seizure disorders, veterans suffering from PTSD, and cancer patients being ravaged by the side effects of chemotherapy, among others, are facing a choice between three bad options. They must endure unspeakable and unnecessary suffering: or they must leave their families and jobs to m more accommodating state; or they must risk arrest and prosecution by procuring medicine and bringing it back to Pennsylvania. 1 ask that you perform an act of compassion. Given the likelihood that using lifesaving medical cannabis will not be a legal issue in Pennsylvania for much longer (it is already legal in 23 states and the District of Columbia), I ask that you consider using your prosecutorial discretion to forgo prosecution of any person for possession of cannabis if said person can demonstrate that they are using the cannabis for medical purposes. In asking this, | am speaking on behalf of the mother who puts her seizure-ridden daughter to bed each night, not knowing if she will still be breathing in the morning. I am speaking on behalf of the suicidal veteran who finds that using cannabis is the only thing that enables him to go on. And I'm speaking on behalf of the cancer patient who is wasting away to nothing—who cannot continue chemotherapy because cannabis is the only thing that helps her endure the treatment’s agonizing side-effects.1 certainly understand the concern that some caught with cannabis may falsely claim that they have a medical need. My reply is that if there is any ambiguity in your mind, prosecute them. It is totally within your discretion. My experience has been that it is fairly easy to tell the difference between desperately ill people and those who just want use cannabis recreationally. We have seen around the state ~and around the country—how local prosecutors have declined to prosecute possession of even non-medical cannabis. 1 am not asking you to go that far. lam simply asking you to issue a statement letting those who are suflering know that they will not be treated as criminals for trying to save their daughter, or their father, or themselves. Iam very grateful for your consideration of this matter. If you wish to discuss it further, please feel free to contact me at any time. Very Truly Yours, 7 = OY oS Daylin Leach State Senator 17th District