Medical marijuana bill clears Pennsylvania Senate

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — For the second time in less than a year, the Pennsylvania Senate passed medical marijuana legislation Tuesday, and backers hope the House will accept the changes and send it to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk later this week.

The issue has won overwhelming, bipartisan support in both chambers after years of going door to door in the Capitol. It’s being driven by the parents of children who suffer daily seizures and have lost their ability to function intellectually at their age level.

In recent weeks, getting a bill to Wolf’s desk has come down to hammering out the complicated details of how to strongly regulate a new industry and get it up and running as quickly as possible for people who believe it can help them, or their child.

“It’s not often that we make history in this chamber, and I would say we’re making history today,” Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, told colleagues during his floor remarks.

On the list of 17 qualifying diagnosed conditions are cancer, epilepsy, autism, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, AIDS and glaucoma. Physicians must be registered by the state to certify that a patient has an eligible condition.

Wolf supports the bill, which would make Pennsylvania the 24th state to enact a comprehensive public medical marijuana program, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.