LAUNCH KHALIFAKUSH. REPORTER: PEOPLE LINED UP HERE FOR THE CHANCE TO SEE WIZ KHALIFA. WHAT BROUGHT HIM HERE WAS THE MARKETING OF HIS OWN MEDICAL MARIJUANA PRODUCT. OUTSIDE, WAS KHALIFA POST WITH FANS AND PROMOTED HIS BRAND. KHALIFA COAST. WE WERE ABLE TO BUY. IF THE BEST IN THE WORLD. I’M HERE TO DO THAT. REPORTER: PEOPLE SHOWED UP FOR THE MAN AND HIS FRIEND. >> HE IS BELOVED. I AM REALLY LUCKY THAT I WAS ABLE TO GET A PICTURE WITH HIM AND BE MY HERO. REPORTER: I ASKED IF HE IMAGINED THE DAY. >> I WOULD. SEVEN CHANGING FOR A LONG TIME. THE PEOPLE WHO I’M IN BUSINESS WITH OUR AHEAD OF THE CURVE. REPORTER: DOES HE BELIEVE IT WILL BROUGHT IN? >> I SEE IT WINDING UP. IS GOING TO BE RECREATIONAL. ONE STEP AT A TIME. REPORTER: IT WAS A DECADE AGO. HIS HONOR. >> WIZ KHALIFA DAY. REPORTER
Pennsylvania lawmakers eye liberalization of medical marijuana rules
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Updated: 7:29 PM EDT Jun 21, 2023
Pennsylvania state senators began advancing legislation Wednesday that would liberalize the state's 5-year-old medical marijuana program by expanding the scope of who can buy it and allowing it to be sold in edible form.The three-bill package passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee almost unanimously.The bills won the votes of every Democrat on the committee, as well as the votes of the committee's Republican chair and the chamber's top Republican, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, of Westmoreland County.The bills still must pass the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The votes come as a growing number of states are legalizing marijuana for adult non-medical use, including neighboring Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, supports the legalization of adult-use marijuana, but the idea has run into opposition from most GOP lawmakers.One bill would eliminate the state's qualifying list of ailments under which a doctor could prescribe medical marijuana and, instead, simply grant a patient’s doctor the power to prescribe it for any condition. Under current regulations, a state regulatory board has approved a list of 24 categories of ailments that qualify for a doctor's prescription.Other aspects would eliminate the need to renew a medical marijuana card annually and allow medical marijuana to be sold in edible form. It currently can be sold in pills, oils, liquids, creams and dried plant that can be smoked.Another bill would allow licensed marijuana growers to open dispensaries where they can sell the product directly to patients.
HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania state senators began advancing legislation Wednesday that would liberalize the state's 5-year-old medical marijuana program by expanding the scope of who can buy it and allowing it to be sold in edible form.
The three-bill package passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee almost unanimously.
The bills won the votes of every Democrat on the committee, as well as the votes of the committee's Republican chair and the chamber's top Republican, Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, of Westmoreland County.
The bills still must pass the Republican-controlled Senate and the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives. The votes come as a growing number of states are legalizing marijuana for adult non-medical use, including neighboring Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, supports the legalization of adult-use marijuana, but the idea has run into opposition from most GOP lawmakers.
One bill would eliminate the state's qualifying list of ailments under which a doctor could prescribe medical marijuana and, instead, simply grant a patient’s doctor the power to prescribe it for any condition. Under current regulations, a state regulatory board has approved a list of 24 categories of ailments that qualify for a doctor's prescription.
Other aspects would eliminate the need to renew a medical marijuana card annually and allow medical marijuana to be sold in edible form. It currently can be sold in pills, oils, liquids, creams and dried plant that can be smoked.
Another bill would allow licensed marijuana growers to open dispensaries where they can sell the product directly to patients.
