Pot activists are going to celebrate the two-year anniversary of Philadelphia's marijuana decriminalization Thursday by holding a "pop-up pot garden" outside Philadelphia Art Museum.

The pro-pot lobby will also hold a press conference at City Hall in Center City to release statistics about the number of citations issued for small amounts of marijuana.

It's been six months since Gov. Tom Wolf signed a law legalizing medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, and already some seriously ill children have access to the drug.

But qualifying adults won't be able to get medical marijuana until the program is fully in place in early 2018.

By this fall, the state Health Department expects to publish temporary regulations for growers and processors, and by year's end for dispensaries, physicians, patients, caregivers and laboratories.

The state already has approved more than 50 applications for caregivers to bring medical marijuana into the state for sick children.

A look at how the program is developing:

THE BACKDROP: A NEW LAW AND DEVELOPING PROGRAM

Medical marijuana legalization has allowed researchers to discover new and useful aspects of the plant we may not have even thought of before. From treatment of multiple diseases and illnesses such as Parkinson’s disease to lowering body mass index, Marijuana has taken over as one of the most natural and effective remedies known to man.

Next semester, Temple students will have a chance to take a class on a plant they may already be familiar with: marijuana.

But it’s not a class about how to best to enjoy the Three Kings strain. It’s about the plant itself — the difference between cannabis and hemp, the history of its cultivation, the effect it has on a human body, the history of its prohibition, its medical uses and its integration into pop culture. Temple School of Media and Communication professor Linn Washington has partnered with local marijuana activist and writer Chris Goldstein for the class.

Gov. Tom Wolf says Pennsylvania needs to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession in systematic fashion, and remains guarded about the kind of recreational legalization in place in several western states.

Wolf said Monday some municipalities have stopped arresting people for possessing small amounts. But he says the state should act because too many people are still going to prison for marijuana possession and that’s clogging prisons and hurting families.

Wolf spoke on WITF-FM’s Smart Talk program.

"The Department of Health is being very thoughtful and thorough in developing this complex patient and medically-focused program," said Murphy. "Providing the public, our partners, and stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft temporary regulations and provide feedback before they are published helps us ensure we are being transparent throughout the process. I encourage all interested individuals to visit our website and provide feedback to help us create a high quality, efficient, and compliant medical marijuana program for Pennsylvania residents with serious medical conditions."

Philadelphia marijuana activist “N.A. Poe” (left) with former Marine war veteran and fellow activist Mike Whiter (right) in the Capitol in Harrisburg.

Marijuana activist N.A. Poe has extinguished his campaign for Pennsylvania Attorney General.

Poe, the Libertarian candidate, announced his intention to withdraw from the race this morning. His entire effort, he said, “could be interpreted as solely an act of stoner comedy.”

“First, I would like to thank all of my supporters,” Poe said in a statement. “It is indeed a sad day when voters lose the chance to exercise their right to cast a ballot for a high school educated marijuana activist to be the top law enforcement officer in our great Commonwealth.”

As Pennsylvania’s new medical marijuana program takes shape, the man who will lead the office begins his duties on Monday.

In a teleconference with reporters, Pennsylvania’s Health Secretary Karen Murphy announced the hiring of John Collins to be the director of the Office of Medical Marijuana. 

Collins actually joined the Health Department in April but prior to that, he served as chief operating officer for a firm that prepared radioactive materials for nuclear medicine procedures.

“I truly believe my experience, as outlined by Dr. Murphy, managing medical products and service organizations in heavily regulated industries provides for a perfect fit for the requirements of overseeing the implementation of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program,” said Collins.

Medical marijuana is coming to Pennsylvania, and towns can't use local zoning laws to keep it out of their backyards.

But they can plan ahead to make sure zoning codes direct marijuana growing and processing operations and dispensaries to the locations that make the most sense in local cities, townships and boroughs.

"As the third most populous region with major health care and medical facilities as well as a population density and a transit system, I would bet, within 99 percent accuracy, that we are going to see a grower-processor and a dispensary at least, in the Lehigh Valley, probably more," said Becky Bradley, executive director of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

They’re having a high ol’ time at the DNC thanks to Philadelphia’s decriminalization of pot and a DNC platform moving in that direction.

“Cannabis is having a very good convention,” said Chris Goldstein, from Philly NORML, the marijuana advocacy group.

“I’ve seen plenty of open marijuana smoking in sight of law enforcement. Safety is their priority. We appreciate that.”

The convention kicked off with a cannabis welcome party Monday night at a dive bar where delegates — and even one congressman — attended.

Goldstein wouldn’t identify the lawmaker.

Protesters got in on the action by carrying a 51-foot inflatable joint through the streets.