Pennsylvania MMJ Legalization Hits Snag

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Although a number of marijuana activists have pegged Pennsylvania as one of the more likely states to legalize medical cannabis this year, it looks like that may not happen after all.

A bill that easily passed the state Senate may now die in a state House of Representatives committee because the chairman is opposed to MMJ.

Republican Rep. Matt Baker told several news outlets that he doesn’t intend to bring the bill up for a vote in the committee he chairs. Baker told reporters that the state shouldn’t sanction a drug that doesn’t have the backing of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

If that’s the case, then the bill may already be effectively dead, despite Gov. Tom Wolf’s repeated assertions that he thinks the bill can pass.

Wolf has already been vocal about his support for MMJ and pledged to do everything he could to get the bill through the House.

“I hope we can convince the right people to do the right thing,” Wolf told Fox 43.

If the bill does become law, Pennsylvania would become the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana and open up a potentially huge market for cannabis entrepreneurs. Every other state in the region has already legalized MMJ, though some have yet to set up operational dispensaries.