Pennsylvania Committee Advances Expansion to State Medical Cannabis Program

The Pennsylvania Senate Law & Justice Committee has approved a measure that would allow physicians to certify patients for the state’s medical cannabis program for any condition they deem suitable, Pennlive reports. The measure will next move to the full Senate for consideration. 

The bill would effectively eliminate the state’s list of 24 qualifying conditions, and leave the decision to doctors and their patients. The legislation would also end the expiration date for medical cannabis cards. 

Committee Chairman Mike Regan (R), who sponsored the bill to end the expiration date for medical cannabis ID cards, said the “ultimate goal is to reduce restrictions on medical marijuana organizations and to reduce the cost and burden on patients.” 

“Nowhere do we dictate to doctors what conditions a patient must have for them to prescribe medication.” — Regan to Pennlive 

The committee also approved a measure to allow cannabis edibles to be sold in the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries and another that would provide independent grower-processors of medical cannabis with additional dispensary permits. 

The bills to end the qualifying conditions list and ID card expiration dates, and allow edibles, passed the committee 10-1. The measure to add additional permits passed unanimously.