By Noelle Skodzinski
Pennsylvania’s efforts to legalize an albeit limited medical marijuana program have encountered another delay. A bill to legalize medical marijuana in the state was scheduled for a House vote Nov. 23, but the vote was removed from the schedule, according to a report by ABC 27. “Sources told ABC 27 an amendment is expected to be introduced that would ‘water’ down Senate Bill 3 by putting caps on THC and the cannabis plant,” per the article.
The vote actually will not happen before “more than 100 tacked-on amendments” are considered, according to Philly.com“Most will significantly dilute an extremely limited bill that passed the Senate last May,” Philly.com reported. “Most of the changes come from Rep. Ron Marisco (R.-Dauphin), the chair of the House Judiciary Committee.”
The Senate passed a version of the medical marijuana bill, Senate Bill 3, in May by an overwhelming majority (40 to 7).
But the bill faced obstacles in the House when it was sent to the Pennsylvania House Health Committee for review. House Health Committee Chair Matt Baker (R-Tioga County)made it clear that he did not intend to pass SB 3, nor any medical marijuana bill in the future, and many feared the bill would die in the Committee.
In a surprise reversal by Baker, however, SB 3 was passed by the House Health Committee in May.
SB 3 also was passed by the House Rules Committee earlier this month in a 25-8 vote, moving the bill to the House for a full vote.
Sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon), the bill would legalize medical marijuana use for patients (with a recommendation from their doctor) suffering from cancer, seizures, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cachexia/wasting syndrome, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury and postconcussion syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Spinocerebella Ataxia (SCA), posttraumatic stress disorder, severe fibromyalgia, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, diabetes, and chronic pain. It also would establish a regulatory framework for growing, processing and prescribing medical cannabis to Pennsylvania patients.
Per the bill, patients would not be permitted to smoke marijuana, but could consume it in edible form, and some patients, with certain conditions, could consume it through vaporization. Home cultivation would not be permitted.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is likely to sign the bill if it reaches his desk. He has voiced his support for a substantive medical marijuana program, as well as for decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
Philadelphia, the state’s largest city, became the nation’s largest city to decriminalize marijuana in October 2014.
Eighty-five percent of Pennsylvanians support legalizing medical marijuana, according to a March 2014 poll by Quinnipiac University.
