UPDATE 4/19/17 @ 3:35 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Gov. Jim Justice signed a bill Wednesday making medical marijuana sales in West Virginia law.

Senate Bill 386 was passed by the Legislature April 6.

West Virginia becomes the 29th state to adopt a medical marijuana law.

Senate Bill 386 was introduced by Sen. Richard Ojeda of Logan County.

The bill underwent amendments in both the Senate and the House.

Under the law, patients can’t grow their own marijuana.

Justice has publicly expressed support for legal access to medical marijuana.

UPDATE 4/6/17 @ 7:10 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The West Virginia Legislature on Thursday evening approved the medical marijuana bill, sending the measure to Gov. Jim Justice's desk.

Justice, who has publicly expressed support for legal access to medical marijuana, is expected to sign the bill into law.

That would make West Virginia the 29th state to adopt a medical marijuana law.

Senate Bill 386 was introduced by Sen. Richard Ojeda, D-Logan. The bill underwent amendments in both the Senate and the House.

The House voted Thursday to concur and complete the Senate's bill.

Matt Simon of the Marijuana Project Policy Project said the legislation would be welcome, despite the amendments.

“This will be an important and, in some cases, life-saving program,” Simon said in a news release. “It is critical that the state implement it promptly. We are committed to working with officials to make sure the program is as effective as possible and to get it up and running in a timely fashion. Many patients cannot afford to wait much longer.”

Keep checking WSAZ Mobile and WSAZ.com for the latest information.

UPDATE 4/5/17 @ 4:45 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The W.Va. Senate has passed a bill making medical marijuana legal in the state.

Senate Bill 386 passed the Senate with a 28-6 vote Wednesday.

After passing the bill, the Senate requested the House of Delegates to concur.

The bill would require the State's Bureau of Public Health to oversee medical marijuana in the state and it would also ban patients from growing their own marijuana, among other things.

Keep checking WSAZ Mobile and WSAZ.com for the latest information.

UPDATE 4/4/17 @ 1:35 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The House of Delegates has passed a bill to make medical marijuana legal in West Virginia.

Senate Bill 386 was approved by the House Tuesday.

The bill was passed 76 to 24.

The bill would make medical marijuana legal under certain amendments.

SB 386 will now head back to the Senate to be voted on.

If approved, the bill will head to Governor Jim Justice's desk to be signed into law.

UPDATE 4/3/17 @ 11:30 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The medical marijuana bill will likely be voted on Tuesday in the West Virginia House of Delegates after some serious debate about amendments to the Senate's bill Monday.

On Monday, House members voted in favor of what many of the original bill's advocates are calling a more restrictive plan.

The amendment would require the State's Bureau of Public Health to oversee medical marijuana in the state and it would also ban patients from growing their own, among other things.

The vote was made mostly on party lines with many Republicans, who are against the measure, all voting in favor of the more strict regulation.

Several amendments to the bill were proposed Monday night. One that was rejected would have meant a person who had permission to use medical marijuana would have lost their gun rights.

If this bill is passed in the House, it would have to go back to the Senate for approval.

UPDATE 4/3/17 @ 11:30 a.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The W.Va. House of Delegates will not vote to pass medical marijuana legislation Monday.

Instead, members of the House will talk about two different amendments that could be made to the bill.

The amendments will be voted on Monday.

No word on what the amendments will be about until it is brought before the House later Monday evening.

A vote on the West Virginia Cannabis Act is expected in the House Tuesday.

The Senate voted to approve the bill on March 29.

Under the bill, a 16-member medical cannabis commission would oversee the program.

That commission would include medical professionals, law enforcement officials, and government agency representatives, to establish and oversee a state medical marijuana program.

UPDATE 3/31/17 @ 5:15 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- After a push to force the medical marijuana bill to the House floor, the Judiciary chairman asked Friday for some extra time to work on the bill.

House members granted that request, laying the bill over to Monday when it will be up for a second reading.

Delegate John Shott says the extra time will allow judiciary staff to craft amendments to the bill.

UPDATE 3/30/17 @ 11:55 p.m.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates held their first reading and discussion on the Senate's version of the medical marijuana bill, ahead of schedule, Thursday evening.

In a rare move, lawmakers voted to bypass house leadership and the committee process and put SB 386 straight to the floor of the house.

Del. Mike Pushkin (D-Kanawha, 37) says similar bills have had a history of dying in committee without ever being seen by the house body. But, this time, lawmakers felt compelled to forcibly move the bill into the debate stage.

"There were a lot of us who felt it was never going to make it on a committee agenda," Pushkin said.

The move was passed by a vote of 54-40-6, making this medical marijuana bill the first of its kind to ever get to the house floor.

Pushkin says the historic vote is proof that public opinion on the issue of medical marijuana is warming.

"West Virginians overwhelmingly support this measure," Pushkin said.

The bill would only permit marijuana use under a doctor's guidance for things like PTSD, chronic pain, seizures, anxiety and more.

The bill also requires a medical cannabis commission be instated to control who is eligible.

Still, opponents say, legalizing medical marijuana would be the start of a slippery slope in a state already notorious for issues involving drugs.

"We in ... West Virginia have seen what's happened with pill mills where physicians...profit from opioids," Del. John Shott (R-Mercer, 27) said. "It's scary."

A second reading is scheduled to happen Friday.

ORIGINAL STORY

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) – The West Virginia Senate on Wednesday approved medical marijuana use with a doctor’s guidance.

It is intended for patients with certain debilitating conditions. SB 386, the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act, is sponsored by Sen. Richard Ojeda, D-Logan.

Under the bill, a 16-member medical cannabis commission would oversee the program. That commission would include medical professionals, law enforcement officials, and government agency representatives, to establish and oversee a state medical marijuana program.

The bill will now be considered in the House of Delegates, where a similar measure stalled in committee earlier this year.

"We applaud the Senate for standing up for seriously ill West Virginians and giving them hope with this much-needed legislation,” said Matt Simon of the Marijuana Policy Project, who is a West Virginia native and graduate of West Virginia University, in a news release. “For many patients, medical marijuana is a far safer alternative to opioids and other prescription drugs. Any delegates who are serious about addressing the opiate crisis in West Virginia need to consider the substantial benefits this law could have on that front. We hope Speaker Armstead will review the facts and give this bill a fair shake in the House.”

A review of more than 10,000 scientific abstracts released in January by the National Academies of Sciences found “conclusive or substantial evidence” that cannabis is effective in the treatment of chronic pain. A study published this year in International Journal of Drug Policy found marijuana is an effective replacement for opioids to treat severe pain.

“Thousands of seriously ill West Virginians are anxiously waiting for their lawmakers to do the right thing and pass this bill,” Simon said. “They shouldn’t have to suffer or be treated like criminals while patients in 28 other states can legally access medical marijuana.”

Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have enacted effective medical marijuana laws and 16 states have adopted medical marijuana laws that are ineffective because they are either unworkable or exceptionally restrictive. West Virginia is one of only six states in the nation that has not adopted any form of medical marijuana law.