Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
The business of medical marijuana is off to a fast start in Erie County.
Three separate groups have announced plans to establish ventures here just months after Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law in April.
Two of the three - a group of out-of-state investors eyeing a project in Corry, and Erie businessman Samuel "Pat'' Black III - have expressed interest in building one of the 25 marijuana growing facilities allowed under the state's new law.
A third group, this one led by Erie developer Greg Rubino, is seeking approval to open three medical marijuana dispensaries in Erie and Crawford counties.
So what's driving all this activity?
It seems, in part, to be a belief that the time has come for medical marijuana. Black and Rubino have cited personal concerns about family and friends and others who could benefit from access to medical marijuana.
"The first reason I'm getting into this is because I have a member of my family who suffers from intractable muscle pain, and the THC of the oils is the only thing that relieves the pain," Black said during a Nov. 10 public meeting.
Financial reasons also are part of that motivation.
In a February 2015 article in Forbes magazine, author Carol Tice wrote, "The U.S. economy doesn't spawn an entirely new industry very often, and legal pot may well be the best ground-floor opportunity we've seen since the early days of the internet."
Even before the Pennsylvania's involvement, a number of sources, including Medical Marijuana Inc., peg the value of the 2016 legal U.S. marijuana crop at about $7 billion.
The amount of money at stake and the competitive nature of the licensing process explains why businesses are moving so quickly, said Rick Novotny, executive director of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority and the Corry Redevelopment Authority.
"I think there is always initial value if you are first to the party," said Novotny, who has been working with a group of investors who have an option to buy land for a growing facility near Corry.
"You get the name recognition and if you are first in town you are going to get a lot of the business," he said. "And I think for the right people, the right investor, it will be a very lucrative business."
Ken Louie, professor of economics at Penn State Behrend and director of the Economic Institute of Erie, said something called the first-mover advantage suggests there are benefits to being the first to offer a service or product.
The duration of that benefit, he said, depends largely on whether the technology surrounding a new industry is quick to develop.
"If the technology grows slowly, it will likely benefit the first movers," he said. "If the technology changes very rapidly, that puts more pressure on those first movers."
Local supporters also say that medical marijuana can provide some public benefits, and not just for the patients approved to use marijuana.
Owners of growing facilities are subject to a 5 percent excise tax on the sale of marijuana. In addition, they must pay an application fee of $10,000, a permit fee of $200,000 and an annual renewal fee of $10,000.
Dispensaries will be subject to an application fee of $5,000, a permit fee of $30,000 and an annual renewal fee of $5,000.
There will be other community benefits, said Erie lawyer John Knox, who is vice president and general counsel for the Rubino-led Passport West Eighth LLC.
He expects a charitable outreach to flow from the medical marijuana business, including contributions from his own company, which hopes to build two dispensaries in Erie and one in Meadville.
"Without a doubt it will be good for the public," Knox said. "We will announce partnerships that will produce jobs, education and contributions to community organizations."
Given the need for industry expertise and a high level of security, many of those jobs are likely to be good ones, Novotny said.
Novotny said the investors who want to build in Corry include people from Illinois Grown Medicine, LLC, a company that has experience growing legal marijuana in Illinois.
Based on that experience, Novotny said, the company expects it would need to hire between 35 and 45 people for the Corry-area location.
Some of the jobs are expected to pay well.
Knox said the Pennsylvania law requires a dispensary licensee to employ a full-time physician. If the licensee has more than one location, secondary locations must employ either a pharmacist or nurse practitioner.
Signed legislation says medical marijuana is a done deal in Pennsylvania.
But Knox said it's also possible that the industry could face a federal challenge, thanks to the likely appointment of Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, to the post of U.S. Attorney General.
Sessions, a strong opponent of marijuana legalization, said in April that "we need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not be minimized, that it's in fact a very real danger," according to a report in The Washington Post.
It's a development worth watching, Knox said.
Novotny said he continues to like the odds that both growing facilities and dispensaries will be located in this corner of Pennsylvania, possibly as soon as 2018.
Geography, he said, seems to favor the region, based on the assumption that both growing facilities and dispensaries will be needed to serve the region's population.
Based on their financial resources, he also thinks the odds favor the three companies that have announced their intention to grow or sell medical marijuana in the Erie area.
"My perspective is the state is going to view this a lot like they did the gaming license," he said. "They are not going to give them (licenses) away willy-nilly. It's a big business and the state doesn't want it to fail."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Business Of Medical Marijuana Off To Fast Start In Erie County
Author: Jim Martin
Contact: (814) 870-1600
Photo Credit: Brennen Linsley
Website: Go Erie
Three separate groups have announced plans to establish ventures here just months after Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Act was signed into law in April.
Two of the three - a group of out-of-state investors eyeing a project in Corry, and Erie businessman Samuel "Pat'' Black III - have expressed interest in building one of the 25 marijuana growing facilities allowed under the state's new law.
A third group, this one led by Erie developer Greg Rubino, is seeking approval to open three medical marijuana dispensaries in Erie and Crawford counties.
So what's driving all this activity?
It seems, in part, to be a belief that the time has come for medical marijuana. Black and Rubino have cited personal concerns about family and friends and others who could benefit from access to medical marijuana.
"The first reason I'm getting into this is because I have a member of my family who suffers from intractable muscle pain, and the THC of the oils is the only thing that relieves the pain," Black said during a Nov. 10 public meeting.
Financial reasons also are part of that motivation.
In a February 2015 article in Forbes magazine, author Carol Tice wrote, "The U.S. economy doesn't spawn an entirely new industry very often, and legal pot may well be the best ground-floor opportunity we've seen since the early days of the internet."
Even before the Pennsylvania's involvement, a number of sources, including Medical Marijuana Inc., peg the value of the 2016 legal U.S. marijuana crop at about $7 billion.
The amount of money at stake and the competitive nature of the licensing process explains why businesses are moving so quickly, said Rick Novotny, executive director of the Erie County Redevelopment Authority and the Corry Redevelopment Authority.
"I think there is always initial value if you are first to the party," said Novotny, who has been working with a group of investors who have an option to buy land for a growing facility near Corry.
"You get the name recognition and if you are first in town you are going to get a lot of the business," he said. "And I think for the right people, the right investor, it will be a very lucrative business."
Ken Louie, professor of economics at Penn State Behrend and director of the Economic Institute of Erie, said something called the first-mover advantage suggests there are benefits to being the first to offer a service or product.
The duration of that benefit, he said, depends largely on whether the technology surrounding a new industry is quick to develop.
"If the technology grows slowly, it will likely benefit the first movers," he said. "If the technology changes very rapidly, that puts more pressure on those first movers."
Local supporters also say that medical marijuana can provide some public benefits, and not just for the patients approved to use marijuana.
Owners of growing facilities are subject to a 5 percent excise tax on the sale of marijuana. In addition, they must pay an application fee of $10,000, a permit fee of $200,000 and an annual renewal fee of $10,000.
Dispensaries will be subject to an application fee of $5,000, a permit fee of $30,000 and an annual renewal fee of $5,000.
There will be other community benefits, said Erie lawyer John Knox, who is vice president and general counsel for the Rubino-led Passport West Eighth LLC.
He expects a charitable outreach to flow from the medical marijuana business, including contributions from his own company, which hopes to build two dispensaries in Erie and one in Meadville.
"Without a doubt it will be good for the public," Knox said. "We will announce partnerships that will produce jobs, education and contributions to community organizations."
Given the need for industry expertise and a high level of security, many of those jobs are likely to be good ones, Novotny said.
Novotny said the investors who want to build in Corry include people from Illinois Grown Medicine, LLC, a company that has experience growing legal marijuana in Illinois.
Based on that experience, Novotny said, the company expects it would need to hire between 35 and 45 people for the Corry-area location.
Some of the jobs are expected to pay well.
Knox said the Pennsylvania law requires a dispensary licensee to employ a full-time physician. If the licensee has more than one location, secondary locations must employ either a pharmacist or nurse practitioner.
Signed legislation says medical marijuana is a done deal in Pennsylvania.
But Knox said it's also possible that the industry could face a federal challenge, thanks to the likely appointment of Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican, to the post of U.S. Attorney General.
Sessions, a strong opponent of marijuana legalization, said in April that "we need grown-ups in charge in Washington to say marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought not be minimized, that it's in fact a very real danger," according to a report in The Washington Post.
It's a development worth watching, Knox said.
Novotny said he continues to like the odds that both growing facilities and dispensaries will be located in this corner of Pennsylvania, possibly as soon as 2018.
Geography, he said, seems to favor the region, based on the assumption that both growing facilities and dispensaries will be needed to serve the region's population.
Based on their financial resources, he also thinks the odds favor the three companies that have announced their intention to grow or sell medical marijuana in the Erie area.
"My perspective is the state is going to view this a lot like they did the gaming license," he said. "They are not going to give them (licenses) away willy-nilly. It's a big business and the state doesn't want it to fail."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Business Of Medical Marijuana Off To Fast Start In Erie County
Author: Jim Martin
Contact: (814) 870-1600
Photo Credit: Brennen Linsley
Website: Go Erie
