York County News

The Senate Law and Justice Committee in Pennsylvania, chaired by Senator Mike Regan, has approved six bills, including significant reforms to the state's medical marijuana law. The proposed legislation includes a bill that would allow the sale of edible medical marijuana.

Senator Regan stated, "We want Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana law to better serve the patients who rely on this medication for a variety of illnesses and conditions." He emphasized collaboration with both parties and stakeholders to enhance the law for patient benefit.

Among the approved bills is Senate Bill 835, introduced by Regan with support from Democrat chairman Sen. Jim Brewster. This bill proposes comprehensive reforms to existing laws, such as removing the list of qualifying conditions and allowing doctors to determine if a patient's condition could be treated with medical marijuana. "I believe doctors and medical professions should decide if a patient would benefit from medical marijuana," Regan noted.

Furthermore, Senate Bill 835 suggests eliminating the requirement for patients to renew their medical marijuana cards and mandates Senate confirmation for appointing the director of the Office of Medical Marijuana within the Department of Health.

Senate Bill 538 was also approved, which permits patients to buy medical cannabis in edible form under strict testing requirements for consistency and potency while ensuring it is not marketed appealingly to children.

Another reform included Senate Bill 773 which aims at enabling local growers and processors to sell directly to patients. Currently, some growers are allowed by the Department of Health to do so while others are restricted.

All three bills related to medical marijuana received bipartisan support. "At a time when we hear a lot about partisan gridlock in government, we were able to bring Republicans and Democrats together," said Regan.

In addition to these reforms, other legislative measures were passed. One such measure is Senate Bill 730, aimed at creating "Jay Alerts"—a system named after Jayanna Powell who was killed in a hit-and-run incident—to alert vehicle repair facilities about serious accidents involving hit-and-runs.

Senate Bill 260 authorizes state parole agents in Pennsylvania's Department of Corrections to wear body cameras. It seeks transparency and security improvement through accurate recording during interactions between agents and parolees.

Finally, Senate Bill 836 allows fingerprint-based criminal history checks on municipal police officer applicants by the Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission (MPOETC), which previously lacked this authority but had temporary FBI permission.

These six bills will now proceed for consideration by the full Senate.

For more information about Senator Mike Regan's initiatives, his website can be visited at www.SenatorMikeReganPa.com.