Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Medical marijuana dispensary set to open
Terra Vida Holistic Center, a medical marijuana dispensary, is set to open in East Whiteland next month.
EAST WHITELAND » State Sen. Andy Dinniman, D-19, welcomed a recent announcement that a medical marijuana dispensary is set to open in East Whiteland.
In a recent meeting, TerraVida Holistic Center’s President and COO Chris Visco shared that the regional, women-owned and managed dispensary chain has received all appropriate local and state permits to open a branch location at 249 Planebrook Rd. in East Whiteland.
“We welcome this facility as it will provide a convenient location to those eligible individuals in need of additional medical options in our county and region,” Dinniman said.
According to Visco, the group plans to be open for business with product available by the end of February this year.
“TerraVida is honored to be located in East Whiteland Township and looks forward to serving Chester County patients,” Visco said.
TerraVida also plans to open dispensaries in Abington and Sellersville.
The Pennsylvania Legislature approved the use of medical marijuana with the passage of Act 16 of 2016 and the Pennsylvania Department of Health has been working to implement the program since.
Dinniman voted in favor of the bill and supports medical marijuana as an option for doctors to treat patients suffering from severe pain and other serious and grave medical issues.
Recently, the Pennsylvania Department of Health provided permits to a limited number of dispensaries throughout the state for the sale of products to eligible patients with serious medical conditions. In addition to TerrVida, Chamounix Venture’s Keystone Dispensaries has received
approval for a location on West Lancaster Avenue in Devon in Chester County. You can access a full list of approved dispensaries here.
In order to qualify for medical marijuana, a patient must complete the following four steps:
1. Register for the Medical Marijuana Program at medicalmarijuana.pa.gov.
2. Obtain a physician’s certification that you suffer from one of the 17 approved serious medical conditions.
3. Complete Registration by paying for a medical marijuana ID card.
4. Visit a dispensary in Pennsylvania to obtain medical marijuana.
Some of the approved serious medical conditions include, but are not limited to autism, cancer, PTSD, Parkinson’s Disease and epilepsy. You can see a full list of approved conditions here.
Since the application period opened in November, more than 6,000 patients have registered to participate in the program, and 100 physicians have been approved statewide. You can access a full list of approved practitioners here.
In Chester County, 11 physicians have been approved by the Department of Health. They are: Karen Banner, M.D. - Psychiatry; Ira Cantor, M.D. – Integrative Medicine; Daniel Csaszar, D.O. – Family Medicine; Michael Fishman, M.D. – Intervention Pain Medicine; Jeffrey Friedman, M.D. – Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Benjamin Jacobs, M.D. – Anesthesiology Joyce Liporace, M.D. – Neurology; Henry Luu, D.O.; Joseph Richards, D.O. – Interventional Pain Management and Rehabilitation; Daniel Rubino, M.D. – Pain Medicine and Leonard Schuchman, D.O. – Family Medicine.
It is also important to note that medical marijuana is not sold in leaf form. The products come in pills, tinctures, vape cartridges, topicals, and concentrates. Smokable materials will not be available for legal medical use anywhere in the state.
More information on Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program can be found at www.medicalmarijuana.pa.gov and additional information on TerraVida Holistic Centers can be found at https://www. terravidahc.com/.