Marijuana plant

The Pennsylvania Senate Senate's Law and Justice Committee will hold a second hearing on legalizing medical marijuana June 10.

(AP file photo)

Medical marijuana will get a second hearing before a Pennsylvania Senate committee next month.

The first hearing in January before the Senate's Law and Justice Committee propelled the issue from the fringes of Pennsylvania politics to the center. Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, said he was persuaded by the testimony he heard that day to switch from a no to a yes vote on the issue.

Since then, medical marijuana activists have only become a more common sight at the Capitol. Last week, Gov. Tom Corbett shifted his position on the issue, saying he would back a pilot program that would allow children with severe epilepsy to receive cannabis oil extract, called cannabidiol, from research hospitals.

But it's unclear where the issue goes from here. Some backers of medical cannabis, including Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, have said that Corbett's pilot program wouldn't provide the necessary level of access. Others, including some House Republicans, have said they will still not support allowing cannabis to be prescribed before the Food and Drug Administration changes its stance.

In a statement announcing the June 10 committee hearing, Sen. Chuck McIlhinney, R-Bucks, said the goal is to develop legislation that can become law.

"This approach now offers lawmakers an opportunity to narrow our focus and work toward a final product that can earn prompt consideration,” McIlhinney said.