Bill Cobb uses medical marijuana to treat PTSD and chronic back pain.

“I’m a 50-year-old Black man who’s been a civil rights worker,” said Cobb, now a criminal justice activist in Philadelphia. “I smoke to have my brain slow down. But to be honest, I also smoke because I enjoy it.”

Alleviating his physical and mental pain is difficult when he feels another sting: His doctor-recommended medicine is not covered by insurance. He pays out of pocket — as much as $120 a week.

“It’s way too expensive,” Mr. Cobb said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Other marijuana users in Pennsylvania agree.

Surveys show that the Keystone State has some of the highest prices for medical marijuana in the nation.

Baking Innovation, a consulting firm based in Philadelphia, has developed Hemp N’ Seeds, a rustic French bread mix for home bakers. The first commercial production will be available early in 2021, said Richard Charpentier, owner.

The mix creates bread with 19 grams of whole grains per slice along with 14 grams of fiber and 5 grams of protein. The mix contains hemp protein and hemps seeds, both of which are viewed as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration.

“Hemp seeds or hemp hearts are seeds that have been hulled or shelled while hemp protein is the powder form of hemp seeds,” said Mr. Charpentier, a certified master baker (CMB) who previously worked for companies such as Flowers Foods, Inc. and Hostess Brands.

Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced late last week mail-in applications for the state’s 2012 hemp growing season opened on Saturday, December 5.

“Hemp production represents a return to our heritage and a wealth of new opportunities,” said Mr. Redding. “Pennsylvania is committed to creating a commercial hemp program that works for small and large growers, new and established businesses, and urban and traditional agriculture.”

With voters in New Jersey overwhelmingly passing a bill to legalize recreational marijuana is it a sign for other states, including Pennsylvania?

 “It’s money, it’s jobs, it’s justice, it’s freedom,
 Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman said. 

Fetterman has long been an advocate for legal marijuana, but nowadays after New Jersey voters approved adult-use cannabis he says Pennslvynia could be poised to lose out on millions in revenue. 

“Legal weed in New Jersey is huge for Pennsylvania too because 40 percent of our population will no more than a drive to the grocery store to buy as much legal marijuana as they want," he explained.

A massive raid involving hundreds of investigators and 27 simultaneous search warrants in nine communities in Washington State has taken down an illegal weed-mailing ring based out of Seattle.

Wednesday afternoon, the Pennsylvania state House passed a bill amending the state’s existing DUI law to decriminalize driving while traces of marijuana are still in the system of legal medical-marijuana users.

In Pennsylvania, the current laws and provisions related to driving while under the influence of alcohol or substances, aka DUI, criminalize driving while tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a component of marijuana, is still in a driver’s system, even if it has been weeks after ingestion. This currently also applies to those with medical-marijuana cards.

Legalizing marijuana could help Pennsylvania weather the economic turbulence brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

That was the argument put forth on Tuesday by the state’s governor, Tom Wolf, who continued to urge Keystone State lawmakers to take up the issue.

Experts have been predicting marijuana legalization in Pennsylvania since at least as early as 2013, more than a year after the first few states in the U.S. legalized recreational adult use.