The Pennsylvania Department of Health is seeking public comments from potential medical cannabis patients and caregivers on the draft rules for the state’s medical cannabis program. The proposed rules would see medical cannabis available to patients suffering from 17 serious medical conditions.
Pennsylvania Acting Health Secretary and Physician General Rachel Levine said public comments provide “invaluable” input in how the department will implement the program “as effectively as possible.”
“Every day, we hear from patients who are desperately waiting for this program to be fully implemented,” Levine said in a Lehigh Valley Live report. “We have made significant progress in getting this program off the ground since Gov. [Tom] Wolf signed the Medical Marijuana Act into law last year.”
State officials are anticipating the program will be online by 2018; however, a lawsuit by Keystone ReLeaf, LLC could delay the program. The firm has sued the state after being denied one of 12 cultivation licenses and one of 27 dispensary licenses in the state, calling the licensing awards process “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.” According to court documents, the firm missed the application deadline by two days. The case is still ongoing.
Public comments on the proposed rules will be accepted until Oct. 2.