Pennsylvania Cannabis News

Pennsylvania lawmakers are planning to introduce adult-use cannabis legalization legislation again in the upcoming legislative session after a bipartisan proposal failed during the last session.

The National Hemp Association was awarded $19.6 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to monitor the impact of hemp cultivation in the Chesapeake Bay. The grant was awarded as part of the USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

Proposals under consideration by Pennsylvania’s health secretary would let nurse practitioners and podiatrists recommend patients for the state’s medical cannabis program.

Lawmakers in Pennsylvania filed a bipartisan bill on Monday to legalize adult-use cannabis. The bill, which calls for regulating the adult-use industry and expunging past cannabis crimes, was filed on state lawmakers’ first day back from recess.

Medical cannabis patients in Pennsylvania could soon enjoy the state-sanctioned right to own and possess firearms, per a proposal by Republican state Sen. Dan Laughlin. Federal law, however, still prohibits people who consume cannabis from possessing firearms.

Pennsylvania could generate more than $1 billion in new taxes over five years if the state were to legalize adult-use cannabis sales, according to an official report.

The Pennsylvania House Subcommittee on Health Care heard arguments from citizens and medical experts relating to the legalization of adult-use cannabis. The issue could see a House vote sometime next year.

The Pennsylvania Senate last week passed a proposal that would allow more licensed medical cannabis companies to operate as dispensaries — currently, just five of the state’s 25 cannabis companies are allowed to retail medical cannabis products.

A recent poll found that just 50% of Pennsylvanians support legalizing adult-use cannabis, down from 56% in a survey from last year.

Penn State researchers received $1 million from the National Science Foundation to help fund the development of the Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Engine, an effort to support the manufacture and deployment of bio-based products for greener construction, packaging, renewable energy, and more.

Under a bipartisan cannabis legalization proposal unveiled in Pennsylvania last week, adults 21+ would be allowed to possess and purchase cannabis products. The proposal also contains expungement provisions for nonviolent cannabis criminal convictions.

The Pennsylvania Senate Law & Justice Committee advanced a proposal that would let physicians certify patients for the state’s medical cannabis program for any condition they deem appropriate.

Pennsylvania is funding three agriculture non-profits with just over $390,000 in grants to increase hemp fiber and food market awareness throughout the state.

A Pennsylvania proposal would urge the federal government to remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act, noting that medical cannabis reforms have been enacted in 38 U.S. states and four territories while 21 states, two territories, and Washington D.C. have passed adult-use laws.

A proposal introduced last week in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives seeks to protect the state’s medical cannabis patients from getting DUIs for simply testing positive for cannabis consumption.

Pennsylvania’s latest adult-use cannabis legalization proposal would see state-licensed liquor stores control the retail cannabis market.

A Pennsylvania appeals court ruled last week that the state’s medical cannabis law does not prohibit health insurance providers from reimbursing workers’ medical cannabis treatment costs for work-related injuries.

The state of Pennsylvania has awarded $200,000 in grants to three agriculture nonprofits heading projects related to industrial hemp-based fiber and food products.

A bipartisan Pennsylvania proposal would allow doctors to certify patients for the state’s medical cannabis program for any condition that they believe could benefit from cannabis therapy.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) issued 2,540 pardons — 627 of which were for cannabis-related crimes — during his two terms as governor.

While thousands of people applied to have their cannabis charges pardoned by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this year, fewer than 250 have actually qualified to see their records cleared.