HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf has announced medical marijuana will be available for patients at approved dispensaries beginning Feb. 15.
“Pennsylvanians have been waiting years for this moment,” Wolf said. “Medical marijuana is legal, safe and now available to Pennsylvanians suffering from 17 serious medical conditions.
“In less than two years, we have developed a regulatory infrastructure, approved physicians as practitioners, certified patients to participate and launched a new industry to help thousands find relief from their debilitating symptoms.”
Patients are encouraged to contact the dispensary directly before visiting to see if an appointment is required. Medical marijuana will be available at the following locations:
Feb. 15
- Cresco Yeltrah-Butler, 201 Pillow St., Butler, PA, 724-712-0705
Feb. 16
- Keystone Canna Remedies, 1309 Stefko Blvd., Bethlehem, PA, 484-408-6122
- Solevo-Squirrel Hill, 5600 Forward Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15217, 412-422-0420
- Organic Remedies-Enola, 4425 Valley Rd., Enola, PA 17025, 717-562-7758
Feb. 17
- Terra Vida Holistic Center-Sellersville, 64 N. Main St., Sellersville, PA 18960, 215-257-3243
- Keystone Shops-Devon, 420 West Lancaster Ave., Devon, PA, 484-581-7189
“Our work continues to increase access to this important medical tool,” Dr. Rachel Levine, Acting Health Secretary and Physician General said.
“Our teams are crisscrossing the state inspecting dispensaries as they are ready to open their doors. Each week we will be adding locations where Pennsylvanians suffering from serious medical conditions can get this medication.”
To date, 10 dispensaries and 10 grower/processors have been approved to operate. Cresco Yeltrah is the first grower/processor to begin delivery to dispensaries.
More than 17,000 patients have registered to participate in the medical marijuana program, with nearly 4,000 certified by a physician.
Physicians continue to register to participate in the program. To date, 708 have registered and of those, 376 have competed the training to become certified practitioners.
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.
The Medical Marijuana Program was signed into law by Governor Tom 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 17,000 patients for the program;
- Approved eight dispensaries and 10 grower/processers to begin operations; and
- Continued to work with permittees to ensure they will be operational.
The Medical Marijuana Program became effective 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 e-mailed to RA-DHMedMarijuana@pa.gov.
Information is also available at www.medicalmarijuana.pa.gov.