I was contacted by a constituent who is diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, a painful and debilitating condition. To treat his pain without using addictive opioids, my constituent obtained a medical marijuana card and began using this medication to treat his arthritis. Medical marijuana has allowed him to manage his pain, maintain his work, and remain an attentive father to his three-year-old daughter. Despite following the guidelines set forth by Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act, the constituent found himself in a custody battle that has threatened his rights as a father and penalized him based on his status as a medical marijuana patient.
 
The Medical Marijuana Act prohibits the lawful use of medical marijuana as a determinant of child custody. However, in my constituent’s case his use of medical marijuana was used against him to determine child custody.
 
In order to clarify and strengthen, the child custody protections for medical marijuana patients, I am introducing legislation to amend Title 23 Section 5328 to prohibit the use of medical marijuana from being used to determine child custody or the sole reason to order a drug test in child custody cases.
 
Medical marijuana use has helped over 150,000 Pennsylvanians get relief from the effects of arthritis, cancer, ALS, multiple sclerosis, PTSD, and many other illnesses. Please cosponsor this legislation to protect medical marijuana patients in Pennsylvania from unintended consequences.