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‘Hope is coming really soon’ Families react to medical marijuana bill

HARRISBURG, Pa. – There were lots of hugs and tears at the Capitol on Sunday as Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 3 making medical marijuana legal in Penns...

HARRISBURG, Pa. - There were lots of hugs and tears at the Capitol on Sunday as Governor Wolf signed Senate Bill 3 making medical marijuana legal in Pennsylvania.

Dana Ulrich has been fighting for the bill for two years. Her daughter suffers from Epilepsy and has hundreds of seizures a day.

"The day has finally come and we can get the ball rolling on getting medicine into the state and treating our loved ones," she said.

The bill will take effect in 30 days. At that time, a safe harbor provision allows for parents to bring medical marijuana from other states into Pennsylvania to treat their children.

"To finally have this done and to be able to sort of sit back and relax and enjoy the fact our work came to fruition is still not quite real," said advocate Lolly Bentch. Bentch's daughter suffers from multiple conditions and medical marijuana is their last treatment option.

In total, with approval from a registered doctor, medical marijuana will be able to be used to treat 17 different conditions.

As per the Governor Wolf's website," identification cards will be able to be obtained with certification from a registered physician and a completed, approved application submitted to the Department of Health. The Department of Health will make it as easy as possible for patients to apply for medical marijuana identification cards. The department is reviewing how it can make applications available to patients on its website."

It will be between 18 -24 months before regulations are in place and medical marijuana is grown and sold in the state.

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