State representative Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) has introduced a bill that would add food products containing THC to the roster of medical weed products sold in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania’s patients should be able to buy edible medical cannabis that is safe, uniform, and securely packaged and labeled, just as they do in 25 other states that have legalized medical cannabis,” says Laughlin in an April 8 statement. “For many patients, their medical conditions require gradual relief over an extended period of time. Consuming medical cannabis in edible form is among the best ways to achieve the time-release effect that these patients need.”
The state currently prohibits weed growers and processors from making medical weed into food products but allows the sale of many other forms of weed, including oils like RSO meant to be orally consumed.
Laughlin acknowledges that it’s fairly easy these days to make your own edibles, but argues that patients would benefit from regulation and quality control. Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program has about 400,000 patients, according to Laughlin’s statement.
“Incorporating medical cannabis into food is complex and patients may not evenly disperse the marijuana’s active ingredients throughout their food which impairs their ability to get uniform relief from their symptoms. … Edibles produced by one of Pennsylvania’s licensed grower/processors and tested by one of our approved laboratories would be uniform in their THC distribution and potency, as well as clearly labeled and stored in child-proof containers,” Laughlin adds.
Laughlin has also introduced a bill allowing Pa. residents to grow weed at home
for personal use.
Pennsylvania bill introduced to allow edible weed products in medical program
