Ethos Cannabis opens second dispensary in state

MONTGOMERYVILLE » Ethos Cannabis has opened its third Pennsylvania medical dispensary at 921 Bethlehem Pike in Montgomeryville.

The new dispensary opened on Tuesday, Aug. 25. It is the company’s second clinical research dispensary in Pennsylvania.

Ethos holds one of eight Clinical Registrant licenses issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to work in cooperation with one of Pennsylvania’s major medical schools to conduct research related to medical cannabis. Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, is one of eight such medical schools which have been certified by the Pennsylvania

Department of Health as an Academic Clinical Research Center to participate in the program.

According to its website, Ethos is working with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University under the research agreement “to pursue improved health outcomes for patients using medical marijuana.”

Ethos opened its first clinical research dispensary as part of this program in Philadelphia earlier this year and plans to open an additional four dispensaries in Pennsylvania under this license over the next six months.

“This is the second of our clinical research dispensaries to open in 2020 and we are excited to extend our research studies beyond our Center City Philadelphia location. The research we are performing in conjunction with Jefferson

is so unique in the national landscape and really puts Pennsylvania at the forefront of cannabis leadership,” Teddy Scott, chief executive officer of Ethos, said in a press release.

According to the site, current research projects include a focus group with researchers looking to find out about individuals’ experiences obtaining certification for medical marijuana and in the dispensary. The information will be used to identify opportunities to improve the education provided to patients about medical marijuana.

In addition, a research study will examine whether medical marijuana is helpful in reducing symptoms of serious illness and whether it has an effect on a client’s quality of life.

The staff at the new dispensary will collaborate with Jefferson’s research team to pre-screen potential patients for enrollment in the research studies, participate in research conversations, give feedback about what patients in the dispensary are reporting and relay frequently asked questions. Additionally, they will provide Jefferson with product specific information about all cannabis products that each patient enrolled in the study has purchased.

“Research coming out of this program is not only vital to medical professionals and patients in the program, but will also generate much needed data for public health professionals seeking to understand the impacts of cannabis as it pertains to adult-use markets,” David Clapper, Ethos president of Pennsylvania, said in the press release. “We are just beginning to scratch the surface with these studies and look forward to opportunities to include thousands of Pennsylvania participants in the research.”

Before visiting or reserving products at an Ethos dispensary, individuals must first become a certified patient or caregiver under Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program. To become a certified patient or caregiver, the patient must have one of the program’s 23 qualifying serious medical conditions.

Philadelphia-based Ethos has locations in Allentown and Philadelphia, as well as four dispensaries in Massachusetts. Ethos Cannabis is a multi-state company with operations and investment interests in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maryland, Florida and Arizona.