A medical marijuana proposal in Pennsylvania may make it to lawmakers by the start of summer, according to the head of the state Senate Law and Justice Committee.
Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, a Republican from Bucks County, says the committee will likely vote on a medical marijuana proposal before the Senate adjourns sometime later this month until early September.
The committee was in day two of hearings yesterday, marked by the appearance of federal medical marijuana patient Irvin Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld, tub of joints in hand, pleaded with the committee to do the right thing.
“You’ve got these kids with epilepsy. One epileptic seizure could kill a child,” he told the committee.
McIlhinney said that the bill has a lot of support from both sides of the aisle and would likely be passed by the full Senate this fall.
“I think it does have a lot of traction because we’re taking the time to get it done right,” he said.
The bill also has a lot of traction because alternative plans aren’t available. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, who has historically been a stick in the mud when it comes to cannabis reform, has proposed in recent months that he would allow CBD-only programs in Pennsylvania hospitals with FDA approval. Not just the trial program, mind you. The FDA has to give CBD oil the okay.
“If in fact the FDA does deem there are appropriate and medical uses, that is something that the governor would obviously take into consideration,” Jay Pagni, spokesman for Corbett’s office, said in January. “He’d be open to direction and the FDA is the agency for that direction,” he added. “It’s the one body that would determine if [medical marijuana] is appropriate, if it does have a beneficial use, and he would look to the experts on that.”