Bill moves from Health Committee to Rules Committee. HARRISBURG - There was a little bit of movement, if you can call it that, on the medical marijuana bill in the state house.
 
The bill is now moving out of the Health Committee, and into the Rules Committee.
 
This comes after Representative Nick Miccarelli, R- Delaware County, tried to file a discharge resolution. A discharge resolution moves a bill out of committee and onto the floor to be considered for a vote.
 
That resolution had a number of cosponsors from both parties, but never was introduced because of the change of committee.
 
The bill could be considered this fall. 

An effort to legalize some forms of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania remains underway as lawmakers attempt to pass a state budget by June 30. There are 23 states and Washington, D.C., that have legalized medical marijuana.

While the movement on the issue last week in Harrisburg wasn't tectonic, below is all you need to know from a busy couple of days.

1 Senate Bill 3 is no longer in Rep. Matt Baker's hands

The Medical Cannabis Act was removed from the House Health Committee by a unanimous vote Friday.

Rep. Matt Baker, Health Committee chair, said he would not bring S.B. 3 to a vote.

The bill, which cleared the Senate by a 40-7 margin in May, is now in the House Rules Committee, which is chaired by House Majority Leader Dave Reed.

As police combat an epidemic of heroin overdoses, fewer people are landing in jail in Pennsylvania for possessing marijuana, a reflection of a change in battle tactics and attitudes about the drug, experts say.

“The nation is clearly taking a long, hard look at this. … There's blowback on the war on drugs,” said Tony Gaskew, a former drug agent and director of the University of Pittsburgh's criminal justice program. “Is it cost effective? We cannot arrest every person that wants to get high.”

Voters appear ready to end marijuana prohibition but politicians are slow to act.

Two polls released today show a significant upward trend favoring marijuana legalization among Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents.

A Franklin & Marshall poll showed that a staggering 87 percent of Pa residents approve of medical marijuana. Although support has been above 80 percent in several polls since 2009, this is the highest number to date.

Few issues have ever seen this massive level of public backing.

The medical marijuana bill that has stalled in Harrisburg, SB3, has many flaws. We've discussed these shortcomings, at length, here in the column. Yet there are some important protections for patients built into the measure that are quite innovative and forward-thinking. 

On Monday, the Colorado Supreme Court issued a bizarre ruling that allows for medical cannabis patients to be fired simply for testing positive for THC metabolites. 

Keystone Organic Farms, which plans to grow medical marijuana, hopes to do so in this former limetone mine, 100 feet underground, in western Pennsylvania.

If Pennsylvania legalizes medical marijuana, Tom Perko plans to go underground -- exactly 100 feet deep.

He's a partner in Keystone Organic Farms, which has an agreement to lease space to grow medical marijuana in an old limestone mine near Gibsonia in western Pennsylvania.

You may remember Montel Williams as the host of the classic '90s talk show, The Montel Williams Show, but this week he’ll be in Pennsylvania in a much different capacity: as a medical marijuana advocate.

Williams will be in Harrisburg on Thursday to attend a town hall meeting urging lawmakers to legalize medical cannabis here in Pennsylvania. Dubbed “Your Voice, Your Future Town Hall,” the meeting will also feature Sen. Mike Folmer, who drafted the legislation.

After clearing the Senate, a bill to legalize some forms of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania faces its biggest hurdle yet, the House Health Committee.

The committee's chair, Rep. Matt Baker, said he does not plan to bring Senate Bill 3 to a vote.

S.B. 3, the Medical Cannabis Act, was introduced earlier this year by Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon County. It cleared the Senate by a 40-7 vote last month.

Baker, a Tioga County Republican, said in the video he has always opposed and never moved past medical marijuana bills that have come to his committee. Committee chairs have the ability to block or move bills that come before them.

Christopher Kenney attended his prom last month in Wind Gap.

That's a big deal for most teens, but even more so for Christopher. The 18-year-old has tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder that causes benign tumors to grow in any organ of the body. He has one small one in his kidney and 14 hardened areas in his brain's frontal lobe, part of which has been removed as a result. His condition has resulted in uncontrolled seizures and horrible behavioral problems that have been made worse by his anti-seizure drugs.

His mother, Deena, told me he was tremendously excited when his parents drove him to the prom at Colonial Academy, part of Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 for students with various special needs. Unfortunately, the dream quickly turned into a nightmare.

States across the nation — including Pennsylvania — are experimenting with relaxing marijuana laws, with some bringing to an end the long fight to outlaw its use.

That fight gained momentum in the 1930s. An article published in The Scranton Times on June 21, 1934, had the headline “State starts drive on Mexican narcotic weed.” Marijuana, which the article called a narcotic that “incites its users to crimes of perversion and violence and is an important factor in promoting industrial unrest,” had become “the target of an intensive enforcement drive by the state Department of Health.”