Pennsylvania lawmakers working to reform state's medical marijuana law
Pennsylvania lawmakers are working to change the state's medical marijuana law. And one of those bills will allow patients to get their medicine in edible form.
Jason Sutter is the regional manager of The Dispensary in downtown Pittsburgh. He said, "A great way for people to ingest cannabis, especially for those suffering from lung disease or lung cancer or anything emphysema wise, and this could really open up the door for them to find a better medicine, a better route for them," Sutter said.
Sutter and the store manager, Eli Frank, say reforming Pennsylvania's medical marijuana law could be beneficial.
"My stepfather, he has multiple sclerosis, and ever since he started using medical marijuana, he has really changed his outlook on life," Sutter said.
"Being able to see the relief on people's faces when they come back in after you sold something to them that really can help them out," Frank said.
The three-bill package passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee almost unanimously.
One bill would eliminate a list of qualifying conditions to get a medical marijuana card and leave the decision in doctors' hands.
“If we are going to utilize it as a medicine and it's going to be medicinal use, then who are politicians to say one way to the other that a doctor can't prescribe it to someone they feel can benefit from it," Sutter said.
The Dispensary sells a different form of THC derived from the hemp plant, and a medical marijuana card is not needed.
"We operate under the 2018 Farm Act, which allows us to utilize the hemp plant and all of its resources however we see fit, so we are able to extract our THC from the hemp plant and bring it to a market like downtown Pittsburgh here where not everybody can afford the cost associated with the medical world," Sutter said.
The third bill would allow licensed marijuana growers to open dispensaries where they can sell the product directly to patients.
The bills will now head to the full state Senate for consideration.
