Business Listings - Pennsylvania Cannabis

Pennsylvania – allowed marijuana usage and limitations

Unfortunately, recreational marijuana usage is not allowed in Pennsylvania. However, a couple of major cities have decriminalized possessing small amounts of it. In concrete terms, you are allowed to have up to 30 grams on you at any given time. Also, Pennsylvania has its own medical marijuana program.

In order to qualify, a patient needs to have been diagnosed with a relatively serious ailment, including (but not limited to):

– Cancer
– Glaucoma
– Parkinson’s
– Epilepsy
– Huntington’s
– Multiple sclerosis
– Severe chronic pain
– etc.

Medical marijuana users in Pennsylvania are faced with quite an interesting dilemma: they must choose between being allowed to own a gun or smoke weed. This is rather ironic, since an opioid addict or an alcoholic has every right to march straight into a gun store and buy one lawfully, while a medical marijuana user cannot, not even with a timid monthly consumption; but such is the law in Pennsylvania.

In terms of what marijuana-related penalties are typical for Pennsylvania, it’s good to know that possession of ready-to-use marijuana is treated the same way as possession of marijuana plants. In order to determine the severity of the penalty, the total weight of marijuana you’re caught carrying is used. If the authorities can prove you intended to sell the marijuana rather than keeping it for personal use only, that will have a significant impact on the level of penalty as well.

Ironically, the Pennsylvanian authorities don’t actually need to catch you red-handed in order for you to get charged with selling marijuana; possessing large amounts of it or related equipment (like measuring scales) can be enough to merit these charges.

To give some concrete examples of the penalties you can expect, carrying more than 30 grams can get you imprisoned for up to 1 year, and the fines can go up to $5,000 (but cannot exceed it). Marijuana distribution charges carry a sentence of 3 years max, given the amount of marijuana does not exceed 1000 lbs. If it does, the jail time gets extended to 10 years, and the fines can reach astronomical heights (up to $100,000). Generally speaking, the penalties go up for subsequent offenders and if a minor was involved in the process at any point.

Driving under the influence of marijuana is a surefire way to get in trouble with the authorities. If you get pulled over and refuse to take a blood test, it doesn’t automatically imply your admission of guilt, but can be used as evidence against you in court. If they detect traces of marijuana in your system, you can be imprisoned by up to 6 months, and fined anywhere between $1,000 and $5,000.

Since cultivation of marijuana is prohibited in Pennsylvania, discretion is advised (not even the medical marijuana card holders are exempt from this). If caught, you could spend the next 1 to 5 years in prison, and be fined with $15,000. When it comes to smoking marijuana at work, those who do it for medical purposes are protected against discrimination by law. Others, however, are not.