Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Bill Reopened

Pennsylvania has been in a legal gray area with medical cannabis for a while now. They keep bringing forth new bills that could result in real change, but they never make it into the final steps of legislation. This month, the state legislature is again trying to push something through, and the house will be voting later this month.

“I have heard the House leadership has promised the people desperate for medicine that there will be a vote the week of March 14,” Senator Daylin Leach, a co-sponsor of the bill, claimed in a public statement issued. “I believe and assume that the House leadership are men of their word. Unless SB3 passes identically to what the Senate passes, it will have to come back to the Senate. We will evaluate it carefully at that time.”

An article by Pennlive claims that while there are some good things about the new bill, there are also some downsides. The proposal outlines a system where all medical cannabis users will be in an electronic database, and growers and providers will be charged additional fees. The law has been stripped, and a number of concessions have been made, such as the fact that all the cannabis that could be sold would have to be low-THC, and that the tax levels and fees for users and caregivers would be extremely high.

Despite these setbacks, people in Pennsylvania are starting to feel optimistic about the changes the state could be facing. The medical movement in the state has largely been led by mothers of sick children who want CBD oil to combat seizures, and relief for children with cancer. Many people in the state who would typically have more conservative views are changing their tune on the issue. Although the road to get there may be rough, Pennsylvania is on track to having a good medical program.