Online Petition Calls For State Senator to Resign Over Marijuana Bill

By Justin Heinze:

An online petition calling for the resignation of Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga/Bradford/Potter) has been created by constituents who are upset he won’t allow a medical marijuana bill to come to a vote in the Pennsylvania House of representatives.

Rep. Matt Baker heads the health committee in the House and has the power to prevent the House from voting on the measure.

Senate Bill 3 passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate earlier this month. It was cosponsored by State Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montgomery/Delaware), who was one of 19 Democrats and 21 Republicans who supported the measure in the Senate. It passed by a 40-7 margin.

The online petition has 1,360 signatures as of Sunday. Over 600 people have commented on the page. The petition expresses distrust in Baker’s judgement:

Rep. Matt Baker has clearly shown he is not capable of representing the state of Pennsylvania. Mr. Baker has shown that he will vote for his own interest which goes against the very title he has been trusted with. This petition is asking for Mr. Baker to step down as he has violated the trust between him and the people of the state of Pennsylvania.

Some expressed frustration that a single person had the power to prevent a vote on a bill that gained broad bipartisan support in the Senate and presumably would enjoy similar support in the House.

“How can one man have so much impact...something doesn’t seem right about that,” commented Reddit user keystroker007.

Others questioned Baker’s motivations in preventing the House from considering the bill.

“It’s absolutely ludicrous to think that medical cannabis is not beneficial for human health issues,” writes Randolph Yale, on the petition. “This guy is not for the people, he is for himself and his pockets. He needs to go!”

Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is Baker’s top campaign financier, providing over $5,000, according to VoteSmart.org.

“Pharmaceuticals and health” donated more to Baker than any other identified industry, the analysis shows, providing Baker with a total of $12,000.

According to Baker, medical marijuana’s benefits have not been conclusively proven. He cited a letter from the Pennsylvania Medical Society that cites contradictory research, including evidence that seizures in epileptic children worsened after using medical marijuana.

Leach calls passing medical marijuana “a moral issue, not a partisan issue.”

“Every day that passes without medical cannabis in Pennsylvania is another day of needless suffering,” Leach said.

Read more about the medical marijuana bill in Pennsylvania:

Montco Senator’s Medical Marijuana Bill Passed In Pennsylvania

Marijuana Bill Faces Roadblock in Pa. House

Image courtesy repmattbaker.com