[JURIST] Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf [official profile] signed a bill [materials] on Sunday legalizing medical marijuana. The bill establishes [press release] a statewide program, which will take 18 to 24 months to implement and will allow patients with serious medical problems to receive medical marijuana from state dispensaries after receiving physician certification. Though implementation will take up to two years, parents will be able to administer [AP report] medical marijuana to children in need immediately. The Pennsylvania Department of Health [official website] has begun conducting population studies, collaborating with medical professionals, and working on temporary regulations and the application process to meet the statute’s 6 month publishing requirement and ready dispensaries. This bill makes Pennsylvania the twenty-fourth state to legalize and establish a medical marijuana program.

In February the Utah Senate voted to advance a bill [JURIST report] that would legalize the use of medical marijuana in various forms such as vapor or edible form. In December Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a decree [JURIST report] fully legalizing medical marijuana in the country. Last November New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed two bills [JURIST report] in order to expedite the distribution of medical marijuana to citizens with critical health conditions. Earlier that month New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed [JURIST report] a bill into law that would allow for the administering of edible medical marijuana to sick and disabled children on school grounds without triggering the arrests of parents or educators. In June of last year the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that a law restricting the use of medical marijuana was unconstitutional [JURIST report].