Pennsylvania legalizes medical marijuana

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 18 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania on Sunday became the 24th state to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bill surrounded by a crowd of supporters, including lawmakers on both sides who worked to get the bill passed. The law takes effect next month.

"All we're asking here is to have the ability for doctors to make to decisions that will make patients' lives better," Wolf tweeted after the signing.

People with various conditions that can be alleviated with marijuana use will be able to get it from up to 150 Department of Health-approved dispensaries across the state, providing of course they have a doctor's prescription.

"We stopped being liberals and started being problem solvers, and we stopped being conservatives and started being compromisers," said Sen. Daylin Leach, D-Pa. "And we stopped being politicians and started being human beings."

Some patients will be allowed to cross state lines to access medical dispensaries in neighboring states as the program might take up to two years to be fully implemented.

"If you would have asked me four years ago if I would be advocating for medical marijuana, I would have told you it's just people wanting to get high," said Amanda Delp, present at the signing and whose daughter suffers from a severe seizure disorder called Dravet syndrome. Marijuana provides some relief. "It took my daughter for me to open my eyes and realize it can save people."