Well, thirteen other states are already doing it, so why not Pennsylvania? It’s time for the Quaker State to loosen up and allow for the use of medical marijuana there, says bioethicist Arthur Caplan.

“Some have glaucoma, some have cancer, and medical marijuana would really go a long way toward helping some of these people. My attitude is if a doctor prescribes it, then marijuana ought to be available to all Pennsylvanians. We should be on board the shift and make sure that Pennsylvanians have everything they need to control their suffering,” he says.

So what about the “glamour factor”? Making pot legal in a few instances may make it more enticing to teens and others who will seek it out, say opponents. Caplan is skeptical. Patients in pain or who are nauseous all the time are hardly good spokespeople for the “Hey, let’s spoke pot!” campaign.

I, for one, absolutely agree. It’s time for PA to jump on the marijuana bandwagon and let sick patients who need it have access to it at long last.

Summer Johnson, PhD