Three Marijuana Dispensaries Coming to Philly
Now that medical marijuana is legal in the state of Pennsylvania, the Department of Health has begun to make plans for how the specifics of how the law will be implemented. The legalization of medicinal marijuana was meant to help patients with any of seventeen qualifying, debilitating conditions. To distribute the drug, which will be available in pill, oil, and ointment form, the state will set up dispensaries throughout Pennsylvania. Wednesday, the Department of Health announced specifics about the distribution of dispensaries throughout state counties, as well as information about grower and distributor permits.
Medical marijuana will soon be available in Pennsylvania, with three dispensaries in Philadelphia alone.
The medical marijuana law was supported by both sides of the party line. The bipartisan legislature cleared with state voters last month. Pot has been proven to be beneficial to medical patients with a variety of conditions, including cancer.
The next step of the process will be taking applications for growers and distributors of medical marijuana. Applications will be available on the Department of Health’s website starting January 20th, and they can be submitted between February 20th and March 20th. At the beginning, there will be twelve application spots for growers and twenty-seven for distributors, to be allotted throughout the state as need dictates.
When it comes to distribution of dispensaries, the Department of Health split the state into six geographic regions. Philadelphia falls into the Southeast region, which includes Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, Chester, Lancaster, Schuylkill and Berks. Three dispensaries have been planned for Philadelphia, two for Montgomery County, and one apiece for each other county. Under the medical marijuana law, an individual owner may operate up to three dispensaries within the same region, but they cannot have more than one in the same county.
It is believed that the medical marijuana law’s effects will be fully felt by 2018, at which point the state will be home to 25 growers and 50 dispensaries.
