Cannabis in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania permits cannabis for medical use only under the Medical Marijuana Act (Act 16 of 2016). The Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana permits growers, processors and dispensaries and runs the patient registry. Its list of dispensaries with product, dated September 16, 2026, shows about 200 locations, roughly 29 of them with a Philadelphia or Pittsburgh address, run by operators such as Trulieve, Curaleaf, Beyond / Hello, RISE, Sunnyside, Zen Leaf, Liberty and Ethos.

To qualify, a Pennsylvania resident registers online, gets certified by an approved practitioner for at least one of 24 serious medical conditions, and pays for a medical marijuana ID card. The card costs $50, and the fee is waived for people in Medicaid, PACE/PACENET, CHIP, SNAP and WIC. A certification lasts up to one year. Patients may name up to two caregivers aged 21 or older, who must pass a background check. Dispensaries may provide up to a 90-day supply.

Dry-leaf flower has been sold since 2018, but it may only be vaporized; smoking medical marijuana remains prohibited, and home cultivation is not allowed. Patients pay no sales tax on medical purchases; instead, growers and processors pay a 5% gross receipts tax on sales to dispensaries. In March 2026 the Commonwealth Court temporarily blocked a rule the Department used to review vape products containing added terpenes.

Adult-use legalization has stalled. The House passed a state-store legalization bill in May 2025, but a Senate committee rejected it. A bipartisan Senate bill for privately licensed stores, SB 120, cleared committee in October 2025 without a floor vote, and legalization was left out of the 2026–27 budget deal. Governor Shapiro's budget plans have counted on revenue from legal cannabis. This page is general information, not legal advice.