Medical Marijuana: What Does it Mean for Philly?

It’s happening: medical marijuana is coming to Pennsylvania. In April, Governor Tom Wolf signed off on the measure that would allow sick individuals to possess and consume marijuana. Full implementation of the law is expected to take two years, which has many individuals wondering exactly what the big picture will look like in Philadelphia.

With medical marijuana coming to Pennsylvania, city officials are wondering what the new law means for Philadelphia.

It’s been well over a year since the state decided to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana, so police already have some experience with the community carrying and smoking pot. The bigger question is, how will the dispensaries (the places people go to buy the drug) be run? Where will they be located? Who will be allowed to grow marijuana, and where will they be allowed to do that? All of this is still up for discussion.

Councilman-at-Large Derek Green has voiced the concern that “grow houses” where the marijuana is cultivated, could be a problem. The plant requires high-wattage lighting and lots of electricity to thrive. Given the large number of very old houses in the city, this could constitute a fire hazard.

As for the dispensaries, there could be as many as 150 coming to Philadelphia. The law allows for 50 applicants to operate as many as 3 dispensaries apiece. An additional 25 applications/permits will be available for marijuana growers/processors. Concerned lawmakers point out that these grow operations, in addition to being the fire hazards discussed above, could also become crime magnets from criminals looking to make some easy cash by stealing some or all of the crop. Green said that, “at first blush,” it would seem like growers and processors would require industrial zoning.

Green points out that, in Colorado, where medical marijuana has been legal for quite some time, dispensaries have a “pharmacy-type atmosphere” and are not a strain on public safety. The hopes are that Pennsylvania will be able to similarly navigate the issue and find a way to make the implementation of the new law easy and safe.