PA Medical Marijuana
Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program – Learn more at health.pa.gov
Download a postcard explaining how patients can get medical marijuana in Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is in the process of implementing the state’s Medical Marijuana Program, signed into law on April 17, 2016.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Medical Marijuana?
Under Act 16 of 2016 (the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act or the Act), the term “medical marijuana” refers to marijuana obtained for a certified medical use by a Pennsylvania resident with a serious medical condition and is limited by statute in Pennsylvania to the following forms:
- Pill.
- Oil.
- Topical forms, including gel, creams, or ointments.
- A form medically appropriate for administration by vaporization or nebulization, excluding dry leaf or plant form.
- Tincture.
- Liquid.
Why was medical marijuana use approved in Pennsylvania?
Studies have shown that medical marijuana can assist patients suffering from certain serious medical conditions by alleviating pain and improving their quality of life.
What is a “serious medical condition” under the Act?
The Act defines a “serious medical condition” as any one of the following:
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
- Autism.
- Cancer.
- Crohn’s Disease.
- Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity.
- Epilepsy.
- Glaucoma.
- HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) / AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome).
- Huntington’s Disease.
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
- Intractable Seizures.
- Multiple Sclerosis.
- Neuropathies.
- Parkinson’s Disease.
- Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.
- Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective.
- Sickle Cell Anemia.
