Pennsylvania's path to legalizing cannabis faces numerous hurdles

To the cannabis-curious, possibilities are bountiful in a nation increasingly supporting the legalization of marijuana.

In some U.S. cities, nearly every block seems to boast cannabis dispensaries fashioned with a telltale green cross symbol. Inside, many resemble the modern minimalism of an Apple Store, and customers can find strains with varying concentrations of THC, cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids, yielding the physiological gamut between calm and energetic.

Two dozen U.S. states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana at the recreational level to date, with Ohio becoming the 24th...