The GOP-controlled Pennsylvania Senate on Friday blocked an amendment to a House-passed medical marijuana bill that would have allowed registered patients to grow their own plants for personal use.<\/p>\n
Under the proposal from Sen. Sharif Street (D), patients 21 and older would have been able to cultivate up to five plants. That would\u2019ve marked a notable expansion of the state\u2019s existing program through which cannabis is only legally available from dispensaries.<\/p>\n
Members tabled the amendment in a party-line vote of 29-21. The full medical marijuana legislation it would have been attached to later advanced without the home grow provision in a 47-3 vote.<\/p>\n
Street told Marijuana Moment that he is \u201cdisappointed that Republican leadership voted to table my home cultivation amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThey voted to table the amendment, avoiding debate or a vote.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Sharif Street (@SenSharifStreet) June 26, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Under the measure, cultivation would\u2019ve had to take place in an \u201cenclosed and locked space,\u201d and patients would\u2019ve needed to \u201ctake reasonable precautions to ensure that the plants are secure from unauthorized access, including unauthorized access by an individual under 21 years of age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further, only patients or caregivers would\u2019ve been able to tend to the plants. And violating the measure by growing more than five plants, selling or giving them away would\u2019ve resulted in the loss of home cultivation privileges, as well as other penalties prescribed under the law.<\/p>\n
Supporters hoped the proposal would\u2019ve been attached to the broader medical cannabis reform bill, HB 1024<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nPA Patients have been vocal on the shortcomings of PA\u2019s Medical Marijuana program. Especially access, affordability and home cultivation. Their voices should hold weight in any amendment process of Medical MJ. #CannabisNews<\/a> #cannabiscommunity<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/RQVhnmrn3y<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Sharif Street (@SenSharifStreet) June 23, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Overall, the legislation that passed would extend temporary measures that were put in place during the coronavirus pandemic. That includes allowing patients to purchase a three-months supply of cannabis rather than just one and allowing patients to be certified by a physician remotely via telehealth.<\/p>\n
Curbside pickup could also continue under the legislation, and it increases possession limits from a 30-day supply to 90 days.<\/p>\n
Sponsors are also making the case that the measure would create jobs because it incorporates hemp growers into the medical marijuana supply chain.<\/p>\n
The bill also loosens restrictions on working in the industry, for people with past convictions.<\/p>\n
Street was also able to attach language providing financial assistance to low-income patients, saying he is \u201cencouraged\u201d that GOP lawmakers supported that change even though they blocked the separate home cultivation amendment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccessibility and cost have been a burden to patients for too long. We took a crucial step towards helping many access this medicine,\u201d he told Marijuana Moment. \u201cWe still have work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some advocates have taken issue with another provision of the bill allowing businesses to remediate contaminated marijuana products and sell them after an independent lab confirmed they were restored. But that\u2019s a fairly common practice among legal states.<\/p>\n
The measure as amended by the Senate was agreed to by the House later in the evening and it now heads to the desk of Gov. Tom Wolf (D).<\/p>\n
While advocates are disappointed by the Senate rejection of home growing rights for patients, they\u2019re still also closely following broader adult-use legalization proposals.<\/p>\n
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are actively circulating a memo to build support<\/a> for a legalization bill they plan to introduce shortly, for example.<\/p>\n
This comes as a bipartisan Senate duo is also in the process of crafting legislation to legalize cannabis across the commonwealth. Street and Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) announced some details of the proposal earlier this year<\/a>, but the bill has yet to be formally introduced.<\/p>\n
Street told Marijuana Moment on Friday that the two are still \u201cfinalizing language\u201d of the legalization measure but will introduce it before the end of this session.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Laughlin joined his Republican colleagues in voting to table Street\u2019s home cultivation amendment.<\/p>\n
\nI spoke in caucus today on behalf of Senator Street\u2019s home grow amendment. I couldn\u2019t get enough votes. Tabling the amendment was the best I could argue for.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Dan Laughlin (@VoteLaughlin) June 25, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Separately,\u00a0two<\/a>\u00a0bills<\/a>\u00a0to decriminalize cannabis alone were introduced in the GOP-controlled House and Senate in January, but they\u2019ve yet to receive hearings in the committees to which they were referred.<\/p>\n
Outside the legislature, Gov. Tom Wolf (D)\u00a0said earlier this year that marijuana legalization was a priority<\/a>\u00a0as he negotiated the annual budget with lawmakers. However, his formal spending request didn\u2019t contain legislative language to actually accomplish the cannabis policy change.<\/p>\n
The governor has repeatedly called for legalization and\u00a0pressured the Republican-controlled legislature to pursue the reform<\/a>\u00a0since\u00a0coming out in favor of the policy in 2019<\/a>. Shortly after he did that, a lawmaker filed a separate bill to\u00a0legalize marijuana through a state-run model<\/a>. A new version of that\u00a0proposal<\/a>\u00a0was refiled in the current legislative session.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D),\u00a0who is running for U.S. Senate<\/a>, previously led a\u00a0listening tour across the state<\/a>\u00a0to solicit public input on legalization. He\u2019s credited that effort with helping to move the governor toward embracing comprehensive reform. The lieutenant governor even\u00a0festooned his Capitol office<\/a>\u00a0with marijuana-themed decor in contravention of a state law passed by the GOP-led legislature.<\/p>\n
Fetterman has also been actively involved in encouraging the governor to exercise his clemency power for cannabis cases while the legislature moves to advance reform.<\/p>\n
Last month,\u00a0Wolf pardoned a doctor<\/a>\u00a0who was arrested, prosecuted and jailed for growing marijuana that he used to provide relief for his dying wife. That marks his\u00a096th pardon for people with cannabis convictions<\/a>\u00a0through the Expedited Review Program for Non-Violent Marijuana-Related Offenses that\u2019s being run by the Board of Pardons.<\/p>\n
Overall, legalization is popular among Pennsylvania voters, with 58 percent of residents saying\u00a0they favor ending cannabis prohibition<\/a>\u00a0in a survey released in April.<\/p>\n
Another poll released last month found that a majority of voters in the state also\u00a0support decriminalizing all currently illicit drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Read the text of the marijuana home cultivation amendment below:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
PA home cultivation amendment<\/a> by Marijuana Moment<\/a><\/p>\n
\nFederal Officials Meet With State Marijuana Regulators To Discuss Legalization Impacts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
The post Pennsylvania Senate Blocks Medical Marijuana Home Cultivation Amendment<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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