HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Latest on medical marijuana legislation in Pennsylvania (all times local):
4:50 p.m.
Medical marijuana legislation is being sent to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, after several years of urging by parents of children suffering from debilitating seizures.
The Pennsylvania House passed the bill Wednesday, 149-46, approving legislation that had bounced between the House and Senate starting last May.
Wolf supports the bill and is poised to make Pennsylvania the 24th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
It wouldn’t take effect for a month and the legislation’s drafters expect it’ll take two years to write regulations and get retailers opened.
But, in the meantime, a safe harbor provision allows parents to provide medical marijuana to their child if they buy it legally from another state.
Christine Brann says every day without a medical marijuana law in Pennsylvania is a risk for people who believe their suffering child may not survive another seizure. Brann’s 5-year-old son is diagnosed with a severe form of epilepsy known as Dravet syndrome.
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1:30 p.m.
Medical marijuana legislation appears to be on its way to final approval in the Pennsylvania Legislature within hours, as parents of children suffering from debilitating seizures are in the Capitol urging lawmakers to act.
Pennsylvania House Majority Leader David Reed said he expects the bill to pass Wednesday. It’s a day after the Senate approved minor changes to legislation approved in the House last month and 11 months after the Senate first approved a bill.
Pennsylvania would become the 24th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program. Gov. Tom Wolf supports it.
It wouldn’t take effect for a month and the legislation’s drafters expect it’ll take two years to write regulations and get retailers opened. But a safe harbor provision allows parents to legally buy medical marijuana from another state for their child in the meantime.
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11 a.m.
Parents of children suffering from debilitating seizures are urging the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to pass legislation in the coming hours to make their state the 24th to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
Christine Brann said Wednesday that every day without a medical marijuana law in Pennsylvania is a risk for people who believe their suffering child may not survive another day.
Brann’s 5-year-old son is diagnosed with Dravet syndrome.
Gov. Tom Wolf supports a bill passed Tuesday by the Senate that made minor changes to legislation approved in the House last month.
It wouldn’t take effect for a month. The legislation’s drafters expect it would take two years to write regulations and get retailers opened, but a safe harbor provision allows parents to legally buy medical marijuana from another state for their child.
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