A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is expected to face another vote next week. Supporters, who continue to sit on pins and needles, can only hope it's the last one -- or even that the end of their long fight is near.



As of Friday morning, state Senate leaders and state House leaders were still discussing possible changes to the legalization bill passed by the House two weeks ago, according to Fred Sembach, chef of staff for state Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, a key figure in the legalization effort.



The discussions centered on whether the House is willing to pass a bill containing changes being mulled in the Senate.



That situation is making medical marijuana supporters nervous, and causing them to keep their fingers crossed.





The Senate overwhelming passed a legalization bill nearly a year ago. But then the bill ran into long delays in the House, and it wasn't until about two week ago that the House approved the bill, also by a wide margin.



The House bill, while cheered by medical marijuana supporters, was substantially different from the Senate bill. That required it to go back to the Senate, setting the stage for yet another critical vote.



Sembach said there are assorted parts of the House bill that could pose barriers to having a medical marijuana program that actually runs as envisioned.



One involves the fact that doctors who want to recommend medical marijuana would have to register with the state and undergo four hours of training. Senate leaders are concerned the requirement will severely limit the supply of doctors able to care for patients in need of medical marijuana.



That has been the case in states including New York, where the number of people obtaining medical marijuana is well short of expectations.



Sembach said assorted other aspects of the House bill also are problematic or unclear, and could make it difficult for patients to obtain medical marijuana even after it's legal.



Some of are somewhat arcane, including a requirement that growers/processors, as part of proving their qualifications, must put $500,000 into a bank account. With the federal government still regarding medical marijuana as a highly dangerous Schedule I drug, there's concern banks will have issues with holding money from growers/processors.



In discussing his concerns about such aspects of the bill, Folmer has compared it to giving a Christmas gift, but not supplying the batteries to make it work.

Jennifer Kocher, a spokeswoman for Senate leaders said in an email Friday, "The Senate returns to session next week and the hope is to have the review finalized then. It's unclear what if any changes are going to be needed in the final draft at this point. Most of what we are considering are technical in nature - dotting the I's and crossing the t's. Outside of the budget process, this is the biggest policy change in the state since the gaming legislation was enacted. We want to be sure we have the best bill possible to the Governor for his signature."

Meanwhile, supporters of the bill, including many parents of children with severe seizures that can't be well-controlled with available drugs, worry that hard-won progress will be lost, and the Senate is inviting more delays and uncertainty.



Worse, they worry that with some leaders in both the House and Senate against the bill, every change to the bill creates an opportunity for opponents.



Many of them said the recently-approved House version of the bill, while not perfect, provided a good foundation, and hoped the Senate would quickly approve it and send it to Gov. Tom Wolf, who has promised to sign it.



They believe problems with the bill can be tweaked later on, through regulations, or by amending the bill.



"All we are arguing is that perhaps all of these changes don't have to be made right now," said Latricia Bentch of Swatara Township, who wants medical marijuana to treat her daughter's severe seizures.



But Sembach said putting off important fixes has possible pitfalls, such as a badly needed change ending up in the committee of a House or Senate member who opposed legalization and refuses to hold a vote, as happened when the Senate bill first reached the House.



"There are a lot of fears," Sembach said. "The question is do you try to address the flaws in the bill now, or do you do it down the road? ... Doing it down the road is also a risk."



Bentch and another mother of a sick child were the ones who persuaded Folmer to sponsor a legalization bill, thus overcoming the obstacle of finding a key Republican ally in an issue that hadn't been popular among conservative Republicans.



Since then, she and others parents have spend untold hours lobbying at the Capitol, sometimes bringing their children to give lawmakers a close-up look at the suffering.



While she said Friday morning she hopes the Senate will chose a path that involves minimal resistance, she also promised that she and other fight will fight through every obstacle.



"We're gonna roll with whatever punches come in our direction. That's what got us this far," she said.

After a bill is signed by the governor, it's expected to take at least 18 months before the program is supplying medical marijuana to patients.