Pennsylvania (SB 3) and Ohio (HB 523) legalize medical marijuana through their state legislatures in spring 2016

In the spring of 2016, two of the nation’s largest swing states enacted comprehensive medical marijuana programs through Republican-led legislatures: Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed Senate Bill 3 (Act 16) on April 17, 2016, and seven weeks later, on June 8, 2016, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 523.

Pennsylvania Act 16 (Signed April 17, 2016)

• Bipartisan passage: SB 3 passed the Pennsylvania Senate 42–7 and the House of Representatives 149–46 after emotional testimony from parents of children with intractable seizure disorders and veterans with PTSD.
• Dry leaf added in 2018: While Act 16 initially permitted pills, oils, topicals, and liquids for vaporization, the Pennsylvania Department of Health approved dry flower for vaporization in April 2018, and licensed dispensaries grew to serve more than 400,000 active patients.

Ohio House Bill 523 (Signed June 8, 2016) & West Virginia SB 386 (2017)

• Ohio HB 523: Less than seven months after Ohio voters rejected a flawed 2015 monopoly ballot amendment, the Ohio General Assembly passed HB 523 to create the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program for 21 qualifying conditions—laying the dispensary infrastructure that later launched Ohio’s Issue 2 adult-use market in 2024.
• West Virginia follows (April 19, 2017): The regional momentum continued into neighboring West Virginia, where Governor Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 386 on April 19, 2017 to make West Virginia the 29th medical cannabis state.