Supermajority May Be Needed to Pass Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Bill

The Pennsylvania Senate reconvened on September 15 after their summer break, with the passage of medical cannabis near the top of the agenda. Back in June of this year, the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee passed a bill titled the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act. Sponsored by Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County, Senate Bill 1182, passed 11-0. The bill will first be brought to the Appropriations Committee, which if passed will then be voted on by the general body.

“The bill gives people an alternative to some of these other medications that are out there that are either not working, or people just don’t like the side effects,” said Folmer. “It’s probably one of the best pieces of medical cannabis bills in the country, and it could be used as model legislation.

While the passage of the Bill is still pending and uncertain, the majority of Pennsylvanians support the use of medical cannabis. According to Quinnipiac University in a poll taken in March 2014, 85% of Pennsylvania voters support some form of medical cannabis, even in voter brackets over the age of 65. “Pennsylvanians think overwhelmingly that marijuana is equal to or less dangerous than alcohol, and join the American trend toward tolerance for both medical and recreational use,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

According to one anonymous college senior interviewed by the Daily Pennsylvanian, the bill will improve the quality of cannabis in Pennsylvania and decrease the stigma associated with smoking. “At Penn especially, when people sell bud they have no idea how old it is, they have no idea what strains it is, they have no idea if it is sativa or indica, and I think that is a problem,” he said. “A card offers you a lot of information because it no longer is a black market thing.”

“We are planning on hopefully moving out of appropriations on Sept. 15 and on to a full Senate floor vote on Sept. 16 … and get it over to the House as soon we can,” says state Sen. Mike Folmer . “We have the votes, but we just need to get through the political process, and that can be very slow because our system of government is never really meant to be fast.”

It would seem that the senate has lived up to its reputation, as a decision on the Bill has yet to be passed. According to cosponsor of the bill Sen. Daylin Leach the bill will not reach the senate floor until next week. “We are so close. We are closer than we have ever been,” Leach said. “If this runs in the Senate, we get more than 40 votes, and we are promised it will run next week in the Senate.” Senator Folmer indicated his confidence in the promised votes he was assured saying, “I have 44, 45 votes. I might even have 48 votes.” Folmer reports that he has been given assurance that a vote by the full Senate will take place next week, although he didn’t know specifically when.

Despite the public backing and senate support, Republican Gov. Tom Corbett may still veto pro-cannabis legislation should the state Senate pass the bill. Governor Tom Corbett remains broadly opposed to the legalization of medicinal cannabis only making an exception for children who use cannabis to treat seizure disorders. Because of Gov. Corbetts opposition, Sen. Folmer and other advocates believe that “we need to get it out with super majority votes,” in order to override a potential veto from the governor. Sen. Leach has written an open letter to the governor on his position which may be found here. It remains to be seen in the coming week whether the bill will pass in September and how Gov. Corbett will respond.