Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

State Senator Daylin Leach is introducing a bill that would allow Pennsylvania to join 14 other states and the District of Columbia in offering doctor-supervised marijuana programs to residents with debilitating medical conditions. New Jersey passed their safe access law earlier this year. The legislation would allow physicians in Pennsylvania to prescribe medicinal marijuana to eligible patients. According to recent studies, marijuana has been proven to counter the side effects of chemotherapy, control pain and relieve symptoms of glaucoma and other chronic conditions. A poll conducted in 2009 by Quinnipiac University found that 59 percent of Pennsylvania residents support the legalization of medical marijuana for use by eligible patients. e-mail from Senate Democratic Broadcast Services

Governor Rendell has called a meeting with legislative leaders to help resolve the dispute over table games that's holding up funding for the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and other institutions and organizations. The meeting is scheduled for Monday. Pitt, Penn State, Temple and Lincoln are supposed to get more than $600 million in state funding this year, but that funding is linked to table games legislation. So far, legislators have not agreed on the license fee for casinos to add table games or how much to tax them. On Wednesday, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi sent a letter to House Speaker Keith McCall asking for a quick resolution to the issue. Scarnati and Pileggi expected to work on the legislation last week but McCall hasn't scheduled another House session until November 9. You can read the letter to McCall from Scarnati and Pileggi here . from Governor Rendell's Web site, Senate Republican Communications,...