State OKs Phoenixville dispensary

HARRISBURG » Gov. Tom Wolf has announced the Pennsylvania Department of Health approved medical marijuana dispensaries in Chester and Lancaster counties to begin operations, bringing the statewide total to eight.

Cure Pennsylvania in Phoenixville; and Cure Pennsylvania in Lancaster have passed all Department of Health inspections and can begin operations. Patients will be able to purchase medical marijuana at these locations once it is available.

“Each week, we are making great strides in expanding our network where patients will be able to get medical marijuana,” Wolf said. “The approval of two more dispensaries is another positive step forward. Work continues to move patients one step closer to having medical marijuana as a tool to help with their medical condition.”

More than 16,600 patients have registered to participate in the medical marijuana program, with more than 3,800 certified by a physician.

“Our team is diligently working to inspect dispensaries,” Acting Health Secretary and Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Each of these inspections ensures that all standards set out by the regulations and their facilities are met, and the sites are safe and secure. The program continues to work to provide operational locations to help get medical marijuana to patients.”

In order to become operational, the grower/processors and dispensaries have each undergone several inspections from the Department of Health. Each of the grower/processors are fully integrated with the seed-to-sale tracking system and are now able to begin accepting seeds and clones to grow medical marijuana.

Physicians continue to register to participate in the program. To date, 701 have registered and of those, 355 have competed the training to become certified practitioners.

The Medical Marijuana Program was signed into law by Gov. Wolf on April 17, 2016. Since that time, the department has:

• Completed the Safe Harbor temporary guidelines and Safe Harbor Letter application process, as well as approved more

than 340 applications;

• Completed temporary regulations for growers/ processors, dispensaries, physicians, patients, and laboratories, all which have been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;

• Issued permits to grower/processors and dispensaries;

• Developed the Medical Marijuana Physician Workgroup;

• Convened the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board;

• Approved five training providers for physician continuing-education;

• Approved three laboratories to test medication before it is delivered to patients;

• Launched registries for patients and caregivers, as well as physicians;

• Registered more than 16,000 patients for the program;

• Approved eight dispensaries and 10 grower/ processors to begin operations; and

• Continued to work with permittees to ensure they will be operational.

The Medical Marijuana Program became effective on May 17, 2016, and is expected to be fully implemented in 2018. The program will offer medical marijuana to patients who are residents of Pennsylvania and under a practitioner’s care for the treatment of a serious medical condition as defined by the Medical Marijuana Law.

Questions about the Medical Marijuana Program can be emailed to RADHMedMarijuana@pa.gov.