HARRISBURG, Pa- Democratic Governor Tom Wolf signed the medical marijuana bill , Senate Bill 3, into law Sunday at the Capitol.
The law will allow parents to legally administer medical marijuana to their child when it takes effect in a month. The full implementation of the bill will take time. Governor Wolf explains,” The Pennsylvania Department of Health will begin the process of implementing the state’s Medical Marijuana Program. The implementation of the program is expected to take between 18 and 24 months and, when completed, will offer medical marijuana to patients who are under a physician’s care for the treatment of a serious medical condition. Patients with serious medical conditions will be able to access medical marijuana with a physician’s certification at designated state dispensaries,” said Wolf in a statement.
The bill makes Pennsylvania the 24th state to legalize a comprehensive medical marijuana program. People with 17 different conditions will be eligible for medical marijuana.
A serious medical condition is any one of the following listed under the statute:
- Amyotrophic 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 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) / AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
- Huntington’s Disease
- Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome
- Intractable Seizures
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Neuropathies
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
- Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective
- Sickle Cell Anemia
A Medical Marijuana Advisory Board will created and overseen by the Department of Health.
