A year after the first dispensaries opened, officials say they’re happy with how the state’s Medical Marijuana Program has been running.
But could a possible legalization of recreational marijuana hurt the program?
Matt Heckel looked into this and had the details from Harrisburg.
That’s a question we asked the state’s health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, at today’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board meeting. But that meeting could also lead to a number of potential changes to the Medical Marijuana Program moving forward.
The Medical Marijuana Advisory Board on Friday recommended including making “edibles” an acceptable form of medical marijuana, as long there are certain regulations.
“It’s extremely important to make sure that any edible is not attractive for infants and children, to perhaps eat and have a poisoning,” said Dr. Levine.
The board also recommended approving anxiety and Tourette’s for medical marijuana use, increasing the number of approved conditions from 21 to 23.
“As there’s more research about the utility for medical marijuana for serious medical conditions,” said Dr. Levine. “I do see the list expanding in the future. But, we’re going to do it very, very carefully.”
One thing Dr. Levine isn’t worried about is the impact recreational marijuana could have on the program.
“It’ll change things somewhat,” said Dr. Levine. “But, we have a lot of confidence in the robustness of our program.”
Last week, it was announced that Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman would go on a listening tour of all 67 counties to discuss the possibility of legalizing recreational marijuana in the commonwealth.
“I’m interested to see what evidence comes out of the listening tour,” said Dr. Levine, and he went on by saying, “That’s the purpose of a listening tour. But, my mission now is clear. It is to advocate and support and expand the medical marijuana program in Pennsylvania.”