Pa. Senate Passes Medical Marijuana Bill

But its fate in the House is cloudy.

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The Pennsylvania Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would legalize medical marijuana by a vote of 40-7.

The legislation, which was championed by Sen. Daylin Leach and Sen. Mike Folmer, would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to patients to treat cancer, epilepsy, diabetes, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDs, traumatic brain injury and other conditions.

Marijuana oils, ointments, tinctures, liquids, gels and pills could be prescribed. Smoking pot would be banned, but vaporization would be allowed in certain cases.

The bill will now go to the state House, where its fate is uncertain.

The Senate approved legislation last year that would permit medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, but the House never voted on it.

“There are members in the House, mainly Rep. Jim Cox, working on language aimed at passing the House,” says Stephen Miskin, a spokesman for the House Republicans. “There are members with some concerns about the Senate bill.”

Gov. Tom Wolf has said in the past that he’s in favor of medical marijuana. Jeffrey Sheridan, a spokesman for Wolf, reiterated that support Tuesday. But Sheridan says the governor would need to look at the bill again before committing to it because it has recently undergone several changes.

Sen. Leach: "It's rare in Pennsylvania we change our minds on issues." #Tradition — Melissa Daniels (@melissamdaniels) May 12, 2015

Leach says when bill was introduced, there were six #mmj votes. Now, he says there's more than 40. He thanks mothers, vets, patients. #pasen — Melissa Daniels (@melissamdaniels) May 12, 2015

@panurses @ozzyogkush indeed, the bill does need a lot of work. medical necessity defense and home cultivation would be major improvements — PhillyNORML (@PhillyNORML) May 12, 2015

.@SenatorFolmer: SB3 is a fair compromise. Nobody got everything they wanted, but it will help patients — as many as possible. — Steve Hoenstine (@stevehoenstine) May 12, 2015