PRINTER'S NO. 743
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
53
Session of
2023
INTRODUCED BY BURGOS, MADDEN, SANCHEZ, DELLOSO, NEILSON AND
FREEMAN, MARCH 30, 2023
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, MARCH 30, 2023
A RESOLUTION
Urging the Department of Health to investigate each entity in
this Commonwealth with a permit to open and operate a medical
cannabis business to determine whether the entity has
financial ties to Russian businesses and, if so, take steps
to revoke the permit.
WHEREAS, On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation invaded
Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, Russian aggression against Ukraine stems back much
further than this invasion, including when Russia invaded, and
has since occupied, the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014;
and
WHEREAS, As of December 6, 2022, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees estimates that 7,832,493 Ukrainians
have been made refugees since the start of the war; and
WHEREAS, United States Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken
has stated that Russia has destroyed Ukrainian civilian housing,
schools, hospitals and shopping centers, many of which are
clearly identifiable as civilian infrastructure; and
WHEREAS, Between February 24, 2022, and December 4, 2022, the
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United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
reports that 6,702 Ukrainian civilians are known to have been
killed and 10,479 Ukrainian civilians are known to have been
injured since the Russian invasion; and
WHEREAS, The United Nations believes the number of civilian
casualties in Ukraine to be much higher than currently known due
to delays in reporting in heavy hostility areas; and
WHEREAS, In response to the invasion of Ukraine, the United
States and its allies have imposed a series of heavy sanctions
on the Russian Federation and closely related businesses and
people; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania and Ukraine have deep economic and
cultural ties; and
WHEREAS, Numerous Ukrainian businesses have made Pennsylvania
their home; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania is home to the second-highest number of
people with Ukrainian ancestry in the United States; and
WHEREAS, As stated by Governor Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania stands
with Ukraine and will take continuous action to support Ukraine
as it fights against the Russian invasion; and
WHEREAS, The medical cannabis industry in Pennsylvania
totaled more than $500 million in sales in its first two years
in operation; and
WHEREAS, It is important that the revenue from medical
cannabis in Pennsylvania not benefit in any way those tied to
the Russian Federation and its war against Ukraine; and
WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of the Department of Health
to administer the Medical Marijuana Program, issue permits and
monitor and regulate the entities licensed to grow, process or
dispense medical cannabis under the act of April 17, 2016
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(P.L.84, No.16), known as the Medical Marijuana Act; therefore
be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the
Department of Health to investigate each entity in this
Commonwealth with a permit to open and operate a medical
cannabis business to determine whether the entity has financial
ties to Russian businesses and, if so, take steps to revoke the
permit.
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