Good news! On June 30, 2021, Governor Wolf signed P.L. 210 into law, making several improvements to Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program. P.L. 210 (otherwise known as HB 1024) was sponsored by Rep. Paul Schemel (R-Franklin) and acts on recommendations made by the Department of Health to revise the Medical Marijuana Act, which was signed into law in 2016.

The proposal most notably allows patients to purchase three times as much cannabis as they previously could, and it removes language that steered chronic pain patients to try more dangerous painkillers first. P.L. 210 also narrows the restriction on people with past drug convictions working in or owning medical cannabis businesses. It protects patient safety standards and product quality of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program while empowering the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board to continue to consider new medical conditions for eligibility. It will also retain certain flexibilities enacted under the state’s COVID-19 disaster declaration that patients and dispensaries found improved safe access. You can check out a summary of P.L. 210 here and a full summary of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law here.

Although the updates to the medical marijuana program are welcomed, we know that many residents will still not be able to access cannabis for their medicine. That’s why we are continuing to push for legalization in Pennsylvania. Please take a few minutes to email your state lawmakers to add your voice to the growing number of Keystone residents that support marijuana legalization.  

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