Pennsylvania Hemp Farming and Medical Marijuana Bills Moving

The Keystone State is set to consider several pieces of reform legislation in 2015.

The Pennsylvania Senate passed a very limited cannabis products bill last year. It would have allowed for a very short list of qualifying medical conditions and only legalized edible preparations and extracted oils. The original version of the legislation allowed for whole-plant access and physicians to have a greater input on who could be a registered patient.

Lawmakers are set to try again for a more expanded bill.

Lead sponsor Senator Mike Folmer, a Republican, told WITF radio: «I think we’ve laid an outstanding foundation,» Folmer said. «We’re definitely much farther ahead than we were last year.»

A new governor will be sworn in on January 20th in Harrisburg who supports marijuana law reform. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, beat incumbent Republican Tom Corbett in the fall election. Corbett was set against even the most restrictive medical marijuana bills. Wolf has gone on record as supporting medical cannabis access and statewide decriminalization.

PA legislators will also consider an industrial hemp farming bill. Pennsylvania was once filled with hemp cultivation and the shift could be a real boon to local family farmers.

The Keystone Cannabis Coalition is holding a symposium on hemp during the PA Farm Show on January 10, 2015.