Pa. Senate expected to pass medical marijuana plan

Pennsylvania’s Senate is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a proposal to legalize medical marijuana, a move that would send the measure to the House for the second time in two years.

 

The bill poised for a vote would allow doctors and nurse practitioners to recommend medical marijuana as treatment for more than a dozen ailments, including epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, and chronic pain.

The drug could be dispensed in many forms — including oils and pills — but not in a form that’s smoked or in food products called edibles. Vaporized medical marijuana could be sold to cancer patients if a doctor calls for it.

A state board would be responsible for managing the growers, processers, and dispensers of the drug.

The plan is expected to pass by a wide margin in the GOP-controlled state Senate. The chamber voted to legalize medical marijuana last year, but the session ended before the House could really consider it.

The House, also dominated by Republicans, has been generally more skeptical of the idea than the Senate.