In this article we’re going to look at the criminal enforcement provisions of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Act as well as practical tips for practitioners.
Seven years after the first bill was introduced in the General Assembly to legalize medical marijuana then Governor Tom Wolf signed the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”) into law on April 17, 2016, surrounded by patients and activists. The MMA created a regulated framework overseen by the Department of Health to allow licensed entities to grow, process, and distribute medical marijuana products to qualifying patients with “serious medical conditions” as defined in section 103 of the MMA. Section 102 set forth the intent of the General Assembly:
(3) It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
(i) Provide a program of access to medical marijuana which balances the need of patients to have access to the latest treatments with the need to promote patient safety.
(ii) Provide a safe and effective method of delivery of medical marijuana to patients.
(iii) Promote high quality research into the effectiveness and utility of medical marijuana.