National Press Club Newsmaker Program: Setting the Stage for National Legalization of Medical Marijuana

Legislation Sponsor Rep. Scott Perry, Activist and Mother Paige Figi To Address Issue at National Press Club Newsmakers News Conference

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National Press Club

Apr 16, 2015, 01:21 ET

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- No less than 14 states – including Virginia, Wisconsin and Georgia – have already done it. Now Congress is being asked to legalize therapeutic hemp for treatment of chronic diseases.

Because therapeutic hemp is still classified as a Schedule I drug, it can't be transported across state lines, even to states where it's legal. And many individuals with chronic diseases – such as persons with epilepsy – can benefit from treatment with substances derived from cannabis. Families across the country have been forced to make the difficult choice between staying in the state where they reside and watching their child or loved one suffer, or uprooting their families and becoming medical refugees in states where access is permitted.

These issues will be addressed at a National Press Club Newsmakers news conference on Wednesday, April 22. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) will discuss his proposed Charlotte's Web Medical Access Act – which currently has 18 cosponsors from both political parties – to legalize therapeutic hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) by excluding them from the Controlled Substance Act.

Joining him will be Paige Figi, mother of the young girl for whom Perry's bill is named. Figi is founder and executive director of the Coalition for Access Now, a nonprofit organization led by families committed to educating the public and lawmakers on the health benefits associated with natural therapies derived from cannabis for chronic health conditions.

Figi's daughter, Charlotte, suffers from a serious form of epilepsy. To treat her rare condition, after many failed medications and when there was nothing more the doctors could do, Figi and her husband turned to therapeutic hemp oil. They say that Charlotte immediately went from suffering 1,200 grand mal seizures per month to less than three – and that has allowed her to live a normal life.

This NPC Newsmakers news conference is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22 at 10 a.m. in the club's Bloomberg Room, on the 13^th floor of the National Press Building at 529 14^th Street NW, Washington DC, 20045.

Like all Newsmakers events, this news conference is open to credentialed media and NPC members free of charge. No advance registration is required.

Contact:
David Hodes, Newsmaker event host, 202-596-5037 [email protected]
Herb Perone, chair, Newsmakers Committee, 301-512-7636 [email protected]

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SOURCE National Press Club