Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed the Medical Marijuana Act, Senate Bill 3, into law as Act 16 of 2016 on April 17, 2016, making Pennsylvania the 24th state to legalize medical cannabis. The first legal sales followed on February 15, 2018. The program has since grown from 17 qualifying conditions to 24, added dry flower, and remains the only legal cannabis market in the state.
This page is the history of Act 16: how it passed, how the program rolled out and how it changed. For the rules patients follow today, see our Pennsylvania marijuana laws guide.
What Happened
Senate Bill 3 passed the Pennsylvania House 149 to 46 in March 2016 and cleared the Senate 42 to 7, according to LNP. Wolf, a Democrat who had pushed for the bill, signed it on Sunday, April 17, 2016, PennLive reported.
The act listed 17 “serious medical conditions,” including cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, glaucoma, sickle cell anemia, autism and severe chronic or intractable pain. A patient needed a certification from a registered practitioner and an ID card from the Department of Health.
It was a tightly controlled medical model. The act:
- allowed pills, oils, topicals, tinctures, liquids and forms for vaporization, but made it unlawful to smoke medical marijuana,
- barred home growing, leaving cultivation to state-permitted grower/processors,
- banned commercially made edibles, though patients could mix their medicine into food at home,
- put a 5% tax on sales from grower/processors to dispensaries, with no sales tax at the register, and
- created a Medical Marijuana Advisory Board that could recommend new conditions to the health secretary.
Background
Pennsylvania had no medical program before 2016, and cannabis was a Schedule I drug under state law. Neighboring New Jersey had passed a medical law in 2010, and by 2016 nearly half the states had some form of medical program. The bill that finally passed in Harrisburg was a cautious version of that model, built around non-smoked products, practitioner certification and state-permitted businesses, not adult use. Our marijuana history section covers how other states got there first.
What Happened Next
Building a market from nothing took almost two years. The Department of Health wrote regulations, awarded grower/processor and dispensary permits, and registered practitioners and patients. Dispensaries made their first legal sales on February 15, 2018, according to the Associated Press and PennLive.
Key changes followed:
- August 2018: Dispensaries began selling dry leaf for vaporization after the Department of Health approved it on the advisory board’s recommendation. Smoking it remained illegal.
- July 2019: Health Secretary Rachel Levine added anxiety disorders and Tourette syndrome to the list. More than 137,000 residents had signed up for the program by then, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Levine said cannabis “should not replace traditional therapies” for either condition.
- June 30, 2021: Act 44 of 2021 amended the law. It wrote the board-approved conditions into the statute’s definition of a serious medical condition and changed supply rules so dispensaries can provide up to a 90-day supply.
Through all of it, the program stayed medical only. Proposals to legalize adult use came up repeatedly in the legislature and in budget talks without passing.
Where It Stands in 2026
The Department of Health’s patient page now lists 24 serious medical conditions. The card costs $50, with fee waivers for many people on assistance programs, and Pennsylvania still does not accept out-of-state medical cards. The smoking ban and the ban on home growing remain in the law.
Recreational cannabis is still illegal. In May 2025 the House passed a legalization bill, HB 1200, 102 to 101, and it died in a Senate committee. The 2026-27 budget passed in July 2026 without legalization. At the federal level, marijuana held under a state medical license moved to Schedule III in April 2026, which covers Pennsylvania’s licensed program; our federal marijuana laws guide explains what that does and does not change. Compare other states on our cannabis laws by state page.
Pennsylvania Act 16 Medical Marijuana FAQ
What is Act 16 in Pennsylvania?
Act 16 of 2016 is the Medical Marijuana Act, the law that created Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program. Governor Tom Wolf signed it on April 17, 2016.
When did medical marijuana dispensaries open in Pennsylvania?
The first legal sales took place on February 15, 2018, almost two years after the law was signed.
How many qualifying conditions does Pennsylvania have?
The 2016 act listed 17. The list has grown through advisory board recommendations, including anxiety disorders and Tourette syndrome in 2019, and the Department of Health lists 24 today.
Can you smoke medical marijuana in Pennsylvania?
No. Dispensaries have sold dry flower since 2018, but Act 16 still makes it unlawful to smoke it. Patients may vaporize it.
Is recreational marijuana legal in Pennsylvania?
No. A legalization bill passed the House in 2025 but died in the Senate, so only registered medical patients can buy cannabis legally.
Originally reported by The Weed Street Journal; rewritten and updated in October 2026 with what happened next.