UPDATE (4/19/17 3:30 PM):

Gov. Jim Justice has signed a bill that makes West Virginia the 29th state to allow the use of marijuana for certain medical conditions.



Justice signed the bill Wednesday at the state Capitol in Charleston.



The law lets doctors prescribe cannabis for patients who are terminally ill or who have seizures, cancer, chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, AIDS and other specified conditions. It will license plant growers, processors and dispensaries for cannabis in pills, oils, topical gels, liquids and a form that can be vaporized.



The state Bureau of Public Health will oversee implementation of the law. Patient identification cards could be issued starting in July 2019.



The law doesn’t authorize the sale of cannabis for smoking and patients can’t grow their own plants.

It’s official! Gov Justice sings WV medical marijuana law @WOWK13News pic.twitter.com/KnDoAflfnL— MarkCurtisWOWK (@MarkCurtisWOWK) April 19, 2017

UPDATE (4/19/17 2 PM):

Governor Jim Justice announced that he will be joined by legislators in his office to sign Senate Bill 386, the Medical Cannabis Act, on Wednesday, April 19th, 2017 at 3:30 PM.

UPDATE (4/6/17 7 PM):

The West Virginia Househas passed an amended version of the Medical Marijuana bill (Senate Bill 386).

The bill has gone from the House to the Senate and back to the House again before being passed by a vote of 74 to 24.

Concur and Completed – SB386 – Creating WV Medical Cannabis Act https://t.co/uy2E6Lt6VD— WV House (@wvhouse) April 6, 2017

The bill will now go to the Governor’s desk to be officially passed as law.

UPDATE (4/5/17 4:30 PM):

The West Virginia Senate has passed an amended version of the Medical Marijuana bill (Senat Bill 386) 28 to 6.

You can see the full vote here.

You can read the amendments here, here, and here.

The bill now goes back to the House of Delegate to concur.

UPDATE (4/4/17 1:20 PM):

The West Virginia House of Delegates has passed an amended version of the Medical Marijuana bill 76 to 24.

You can see the full vote here:

The Policy Committee of the West Virginia Republican Party sent out a letter Monday urging all Republican Delegates and Senators to vote no on the medical marijuana bill.

The West Virginia House of Delegates passed Delegate John Shott’s amendment Monday night to change the bill.

The bill now goes back to the Senate for approval of the amended version.

UPDATE (3/31/17 8:00 PM):

Members of the House of Delegate were able to skip the committee process and bypass the leadership to move Senate Bill 386 to the floor.

The bill is also known as “The West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act.” It would create a State Cannabis Commission responsible for coming up with rules and regulations for patients who qualify.

A second reading of the bill is scheduled for Friday, and a vote could come as early as Saturday.

ORIGINAL: Senate Bill 386, which would make medical marijuana legal in West Virginia, has passed the State Senate by a vote of 28-6.

Delegate Shawn Fluharty of Ohio County, West Virginia introduced medical marijuana legislation in this year’s session without much success in the House of Delegates.

Medical Marijuana passes West Virginia Senate 28-6. 6 No votes were GOP; 16 Republicans joined Dems Yes @WOWK13News pic.twitter.com/R3xyUuCvIy— MarkCurtisWOWK (@MarkCurtisWOWK) March 30, 2017

Advocates say that it is a safer alternative to help ease debilitating medical conditions, while opponents say that there just is not enough research.

The bill will now go to the House of Delegates for a vote.