Earlier this year, I wrote that 2015 might be the year that medical marijuana legislation is passed in Pennsylvania. This was because in 2014 the PA Senate approved such legislation, and, although the legislation sat in the PA House through the end of the term, the election of Governor Tom Wolf removed the additional hurdle of a veto by former Governor Tom Corbett were the PA House to pass the legislation.
On May 12, 2015, the PA Senate again passed a medical marijuana bill. It obviously remains to be seen what the PA House will do, but given Governor Wolf’s indication that he would not veto such legislation should it reach his desk, and reports that up to 88% of PA residents are in favor of legalized medical marijuana, the odds of legalization in 2015 seem to be improving.
Significantly, as I have also previously written, until marijuana is removed as a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, state legalization and federal criminalization pose ethical dilemmas for attorneys, and creates conflicts for others interested in participating in the industry.