Law enforcement says controls critical for medical marijuana

    Prosecutors and police are telling Pennsylvania legislators strict regulatory controls are critical in any medical marijuana law to ensure that it does not compound the problem of recreational marijuana use.

    Spokesmen for three law-enforcement groups shared that message in testimony Wednesday before what was billed as a fact-finding hearing of the House Health and Judiciary committees.

    Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, speaking for the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, says legislators must ensure that the right people are prescribing, distributing and receiving any medical form of marijuana.

    James Walsh of the state lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police, says police agencies are concerned that Pennsylvania may endorse the use of marijuana as a pain relief while the federal government says it has “no current medical use.”

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