PENNSYLVANIA: State Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early 2012. He said he got a clean screening from a doctor in November.

The experience has influenced his view on whether people should be allowed to use marijuana for medical reasons.

He said he came across a lot of other sick people. And he thinks the United States is missing the boat when it comes to the medical benefit of cannabis.

“The arsenal of my doctor was adequate to help me do my battle,” Folmer said. “”I’m just looking to give patients and doctors every weapon at their fingertips to help them fight their diseases.”

In November, Folmer and state Sen. Daylin Leach, a Democrat who represents parts of Delaware and Montgomery counties, announced plans to introduce the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act to legalize the use of medical cannabis by patients as prescribed by physicians.

Leach’s office called it the first time in state Senate history that a medical cannabis bill has been drafted with bipartisan support. Folmer said in late November that they were still working on drafting the legislation.

G. Terry Madonna, a pollster and political science professor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, said polling data shows overwhelming support for medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.

But he said passing such a measure would be difficult.

“It’s a slog,” he said. “Look what it took to get a transportation bill. “Getting something through our legislature that’s controversial isn’t easy.”