Pennsylvania to Allow 3-Month Supply for Medical Cannabis Patients

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf on Wednesday signed a bill implementing changes to the state’s medical cannabis program, including allowing patients to obtain a three-month supply of their medicine as opposed to just a one-month supply.

The legislation also adds cancer remission therapy and neuropathies of the central nervous system to the state’s qualifying conditions list and expands the number of facilities that study patient outcomes to medical cannabis.

“It’s been five years since Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana, and in that time the Department of Health has examined the program’s successes and challenges and made important recommendations on improving the law. This legislation provides important updates to our state’s medical marijuana program to ensure that patients have improved access to medication.”—Wolf in a press release

Additionally, under the new law, cannabis companies can now remove contaminants from cannabis plants, such as mold and yeast, and process them into topical products, WESA reports. It also allows companies to designate workers and “caregivers,” allowing them to deliver cannabis to patients’ homes—a flexibility “enacted under the state’s COVID-19 disaster declaration that patients and dispensaries found convenient,” the Governor’s Office said.

Wolf had urged lawmakers to pass adult-use cannabis reforms during this year’s session, saying last year that revenue generated from the industry “might be one way” to bridge the state’s budget gap. He told Go Erie that he is “going to keep pushing for legalization and restorative justice” until lawmakers approve broad legalization, noting support for the reforms by a “vast majority of Pennsylvanians.”