Only PA residents with qualifying medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation can participate in the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program.

To find out if your condition qualifies, you need to schedule an appointment with a state licensed doctor. Your doctor will need to certify that you have a serious medical condition and that you would benefit from the use of cannabis. Once you’ve got the doctor’s recommendation, you can apply for a medical marijuana card from the Pennsylvania Department of health.

What conditions qualify for the Medical Marijuana Program in Pennsylvania?

The list of health conditions that currently qualify for Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program are:

• Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Autism
• Cancer
• Crohn’s Disease
• Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
• Epilepsy
• Glaucoma
• HIV / AIDS
• Huntington’s Disease
• Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome
• Intractable Seizures
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Neuropathies
• Parkinson’s Disease
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Sever chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or sever chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective
• Sickle Cell Anemia

Will additional conditions be added to the list of qualifying conditions?

The Pennsylvania Department of Health may add more conditions to the list at any point in the future.

Where to find a Medical Marijuana Doctor in Pa?

Before doctors can give people recommendations for medical cannabis, they must register with the Department of Health,complete a four-hour course about medical cannabis, and report back to the Department on the status and progress of patients.

Due to the infancy of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program, there isn’t a full list of medical marijuana doctors available yet. However, the Department of Health said it will explore ways to provide all necessary information on its website.

Where are the legal cannabis dispensaries in Pennsylvania located?

Under the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program, the state will authorize up to 150 dispensaries across the state. Due to the fact that the program is still being implemented, there isn’t a full list of dispensaries yet.

But as with the list of medical marijuana doctors, the Department of Health said it hopes to provide all necessary information on its website as soon as the Program is up and running.

What will my medical marijuana card get me at a Pennsylvania dispensary?

Once you have your medical marijuana card you’ll be able to purchase cannabis pills, oils, gels, creams, ointments, liquids, and non-whole plant forms of cannabis that can be vaporized. Dispensaries will not be allowed to self, and patients will not be allowed to buy, smokable cannabis flowers.

So no smoking?

You technically won’t be allowed to smoke at all. Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program only allows for non-smokable cannabis products and cannabis extracts.

Are patients and caregivers shielded from discrimination?

As soon as a patient has been given an official medical cannabis registration card, they and their caregiver will be protected from legal discrimination. With that said, employers will not be required to accommodate employees’ cannabis use while at work.

What is the future of the Medical Marijuana Program in Pennsylvania?

The biggest problems people have with Pennsylvania’s new Medical Marijuana Program is that it still outlaws smokable forms of cannabis. This could be one of the hot issues the Program will face as it moves forward. And judging by the way other states have begun expanding their lists of qualifying medical conditions, it seems likely that PA will also find itself confronting the question of whether or not it will add new conditions to its list as well.

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The house voted, 149-46, capping several years of door-to-door lobbying by parents andm ore than a year-and-a-half since the state Senate first approved a medical marijuana bill in 2014. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, has indicated that he will sign it.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, lawmakers promised to legalize medical marijuana by the summer, before voters get a chance to decide a ballot question in the fall election.

Medical marijuanacoming to Pennsylvania

Over 2 years ago, in one of her first treks to the Capitol, Cara Salemme heard from her state representative would never legalize medical marijuana

Still, the York County mother came back again and again, patiently and persistently explaining how the medison could her her son Jackson cope with terrifying and recurring epileptic seizures.

“It’s your child,” she said. “What else are you going to change the world for?”

On Wednesday, after years of lobbying and a frantic final weeks of uncertainty, hundreds of advocates (including Salemme) couldcelebrate.

The House joined the Senate in agreeing to legalize medical marijuana which would give give citizens access to what they say is a safe and effective way to treat chronic annd painful ailments.

Gov. Wolf, who has always supported the initiative, said he would sign the bill into law on Sunday in the Capitol Rotunda. Pennsylvania would become the 24th state to approve medical cannabis.

The 149-46 vote followed whirlwind legislative session and the near-collapse of the bill – which passed the Senate earlier this year but was revised by the House, tweaked by the Senate, and again returned to the House

House majority Leader Dave Reed (R., Indiana) hailed what he said was a bipartisan effort to overcome years of obstacles.

“At one time, I was opposed to the idea of allowing doctors to prescribe medical marijuana,” said Reed, echoing a once-widely held Republican position. “But after researching the issue, reviewing the laws in other states, and reading about the struggles of families the drug would help, I came to realize that it is wrong to withhold something that could benefit so many.”

Watching Wednesday with tears in her eyes was Jessica Hawkins of Pittsburgh, whose 11-year-old daughter, Antania, has Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy.

“It’s not like a scrape, where you can kiss it and make it better,” said Hawkins, who said she took Antania to Colorado to get medical marijuana, which she said helped cut down on the more than 100 seizures she has a day. “There’s nothing you can do.”

The law will alow people suffering from cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and other conditions to access medical marijuana i pill, oil, or ointment form at dispensaries statewide. Smoking of marijuana will not be tolerated.

The Legislation calls for creating a complex regulatory process for what essentially would become a new industry in Pennsylvania, with dozens of dispensaries, a least hundreds of workers, and potentially thousands of patients. The Department of Health is expected to start the process with an advisory board; putting all the pieces in place means it could be 18 months or longer before patients actually have access.

But Senators Daylin Deach (D., Montgomery) and Mike Folmer (R., Lebaon) noted the law includes a “safe haven” provision to quickly allow families with children under 18 to access medical marijuana – for instance, from other states where it is legal – without fear of prosecution. Temporary regulations are also expected to be written to permit adults to access it if they can demonstrate they suffer from one of the 17 condition listen in the legislation.

Once the system is up and running, it would issue patients identification cards to access medical marijuana from one of 150 dispensaries statewide. These ID cards would have o be renewed annually. Doctors prescribing the treatment will have to register as practitioners.

Dispensaries, as well as growers and processors of medical cannabis, have to be licensed by the state, and pay hefty registration and renewal fees. A 5% tax would also be imposed on the gross receipts from the sale of medical marijuana by a grower to a dispensary.

Leach, among the bill’s biggest backers, called it “the most significant piece of social policy enacted in Pennsylvania” in generations.

“Marijuana is medicine and it’s come to Pennsylvania he said at a news conference with Wolf after the vote. “Everyone can get sick, and in such a circumstance everyone would want medicine that would make them better.”

To the end, the bill’s critics kept up their opposition – including arguing that the law conflicts with federal policy because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medicinal purposes.

“What an unprecedented thing we are doing here today, bypassing the FDA process,” Rep. Matt Baker (R., Bradford), who tried to block the legislation, said during the House floor debate Wednesday.

Baker said the state would soon face “many challenges and serious consequences and concerns,” including product safety and quality control.

He and others have also said they believe this will open the door to legalizing recreational marijuana.

Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Dauphin) disagreed.

“Sick people do not want to get high,” he said. “They want to get better.”

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The voted ended 8-1, with Councilwoman Darlene Harris who consistently argues that decriminalization must happen o the state or federal level.

Mayor Bill Peduto is expected to sign the amended ordinance within 10 days, making it law.

Under the new rule, Pittsburgh police could issue a summary citation punishable by a fine of $100 for smoking or $25 for possession of a small amount of marijuana. This would appear on a criminal record as violating “certain defined conduct” rather than including words such as controlled substances or marijuana, making it harder to search for in a person’s criminal record.

Summaries can be expunged in five years if the defendant is convicted and do not require to be fingerprinted or to appear at a preliminary hearing.

“This is a small step – but an important – in helping young men who have a small amount of marijuana on them, not be entered into the criminal justice system,” Councilman Ricky Burgess said before the vote.

City Councilman Daniel Lavelle, who sponsored the legislation, said police officers will still have the option to levy a misdemeanor charge if they suspect more serious crimes are also occurring. He said he intends to draft a “will of council,” asking the county and state to consider decriminalization efforts.

City officials did not provide any details on what training officers would receive or when they could be enforcing the new ordinance. Lavelle, however, said he would like to see it in place by the end of April.

An earlier version, 7-2, was approved by the council in December, with Mrs. Harris and Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smmith objecting then as well. Mrs. Kail-Smith said that she was conflicted about the ordinance but none of her constituents asked her to vote against it.

The ordinance originally allowed police to issue a “civil fine” unsearchable in criminal records – rather than a misdemeanor for possession of less than 30 grams of marijuana or 8 grams of hashish, punishable in Pennsylvania by 30 days in jail or a $500 fine.

However, unlike Philadelphia, Pittsburgh cannot process such civil fines.

Proponents say Pittsburgh’s bill formalizes local prosecutors’ practice of reducing misdemeanor marijuana possession to a summary citation and eliminates strain on the local criminal justice system that processing such cases imposes, as well as wiping out collateral damage wrought on employment, housing and life opportunities by the relatively minor criminal conviction.

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The state house was expected to hold a final vote on  Wednesday. State Rep. Mike Regan, a former federal marshal said, “I have no doubt it’s going to pass,”

Diana Briggs, a Pittsburgh area woman seeking medical marijuana to treat her 15-year old son, who’s  disabled by frequent seizures that haven’t been controlled with available medicine, said, “We are so excited — this is out Super Bowl.”

House members spent much of Tuesday afternoon voting down a long series of amendments, many of them introduced by opponents of medical marijuana. Several other amendments were passed, including one that expands the list of approved medical conditions to include sickle cell disease, and others that ban elected officials from having a stake in medical marijuana businesses, and prevent medical marijuana dispensaries from operating near schools.

The fight against many amendments, which supporters saw as detrimental, was led by state Rep. Ron Marsico, R-Dauphin.Marsico was the author of a sprawling amendment that passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday which provides the main components of a medical marijuana program for Pennsylvania.

More than a dozen conditions could be treated by medical marijuana, including seizures, PTSD, chronic pain, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and some other neurological and gastrointestinal conditions.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health would regulate medical marijuana, but a separate board within the department would devise  regulations and be responsible for things such as adjusting the list of conditions that can be treated with medical marijuana, and adjusting consumption methods.

As it stands, medical marijuana is not allowed to be smoked but it can be dispersed in forms including pills, creams, oils, liquids and forms that can be vaporized.

The state would initially license up to 25 growers/processors and up to 50 dispensary, with each dispensary allowed to have up to three locations. Medical marijuana would be taxed at 5% at the wholesale level, and there would be a program to make sure it’s affordable for the poor.

Medical marijuana will have to be grow indoor, highly secure facilities. Patients need to receive a recommendation from their doctor, then a state-issued card, as would their caregivers in order to gain access to medical marijuana. Doctors and others in the prescribing and dispensing process will have to undergo training.

If the House gives final approval to the amended bill which began in the Senate, it would have to return to the Senate for another vote, which approved the earlier version of the bill 40-7.

For more than two years, medical marijuana supporters have been lobbying intensely. They persisted through 10 months of frustration after the Senate passed a bill but the House failed to act until late Monday. After Mondays 152-38 vote in favor of the Marsico amendment that some supporters said improved the Senate Bill, SB3, which was authorized by state Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, optimism finally surged.

Gov. Tom Wolf has said he will sign a bill. On Tuesday afternoon he met with medical marijuana supporters in his office, telling him they have carried out a “historic” feat which shows the power of Democracy.

Others on Tuesday were calling the effort a historic example of how strong grassroots efforts and a worthy cause can cause Republics and Democrats to put aside partisan differences.

State Rep. Ed Gainey, D-Allegheny, said “This is people power at its best. Look what Democracy can do when you believe.

The medical marijuana program is expected to take between 18 months and two years to get up and running. Pennsylvania would become one  of about two dozen U.S. states and territories that allow medical marijuana.

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Medical marijuana bills were approved by the Senate in September 2014 and again in May 2015, and Gov. Tom Wolf supports allowing the treatment. The legislation, however, which would established a highly regulated industry and which faced opposition from some House Republican Leaders, did not go that smoothly through the House. The chamber held hearings and convened a task force to study the issue.

House Republican spokesman Steve Miskin said the House is scheduled to consider amendments to the bill today and then take a final vote Tuesday or possibly on Wednesday. A bill amended by the House would have to return to the Senate for its approval.

Mr. Miskin Said that more than 200 amendments have been filed to the Senate bill, with a comprehensive amendment from Rep. Rom Masico, R-Dauphin and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, potentially having the support from Republicans and Democrats.

The proposal would establish a program to make marijuana available to patients who have one of a list of conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), HIV and AIDS, MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and other illnesses. In order to obtain marijuana, patients would need a certification from a doctor.

Patients could receive marijuana in a pill, oil or through vaporization, among other forms. Smoking would not be allowed, and dispensaries would not be permitted to sell edibles that contain marijuana, though patients could incorporate marijuana into food. It would establish rules for growers and dispensaries, as well as an advisory board to oversee the state’s handling of medical marijuana.

Growers and processors would be required to pay a tax of 5% of receipts of their sales of medical marijuana to dispensaries. The money would be spent as follows:

• 45% – operating the medical marijuana system
• 30% – research about medical marijuana
• 10% – drug abuse prevention, counseling and treatment
• 10% – local police departments
• 5% – background checks conducted by state police

Spokesman for House Democrats, Bill Patton, said he expects the House will pass a medical marijuana bill.
“It’s a nice whole whose time has come,” he said.

Advocates for medical marijuana have been a presence at the state Capitol as the legislation has gone its way through the General Assembly. A resident of Connellsville in Fayette County, Julie Michaels, estimated she has made between 15 to 20 trips to Harrisburg to advocate for medical marijuana. Michaels believes the treatment might help her 6 year old daughter, Sydney, who has Dravet syndrome, an intractable form of epilepsy. She said marijuana has helped children with Sydney’s symptoms have fewer seizures.

“I’d just love the chance to try,: Ms. Michaels said.

Gov. Tom Wolf, on Friday urged the House and Senate to pass a bill. In May 2015 he hosted supporters of medical marijuana at the official Harrisburg governor’s residence.

“I support the legalization of medical marijuana so we can finally provide much needed relief to families and children,” Wolf said in a statement. “it is time to legalize medical marijuana because we should not deny doctor-recommended treatment that could help people suffering from seizures or cancer patients affected by chemotherapy.”

The National Conference of State Legislatures says that 23 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Guam, allow for comprehensive public medical marijuana programs, while 17 states allow some use of marijuana products that are low in THC, the main psychoactive compound.

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