Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Anyone who's worried that the Lehigh Valley will be awash in marijuana when Pennsylvania's medical cannabis system kicks off in 2018 can exhale.
The Valley will be limited to two dispensary operators and at most two grower/processors in the first phase of the program, under guidelines issued Wednesday in an update from Health Secretary Dr. Karen Murphy.
Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program, signed into law in April, requires a regional distribution of dispensary and grower/processor permits, but the details were one of law's biggest unknowns. The Department of Health cleared that up Thursday.
The department will put permit applications for growers, processors and distributors on its website beginning Jan. 17, she said. Applications will be accepted between Feb. 20 and March 20, with permits issued in phases.
In phase one, the state expects to award 27 dispensary permits and 12 grower/processor permits. That's about half of those authorized by the law.
Competition for permits is expected to be fierce. The state says it has received correspondence from about 900 entities that have expressed an interest in either producing or dispensing medical marijuana under the state's recently passed law.
State officials estimate it could take up to 90 days to evaluate the applications, but that will depend on how many are submitted.
The decision to issue only half the state's available permits will decrease applicants' odds of winning, but ensure successful applicants a larger share of a market that is just getting off the ground, said Michael Bronstein, lead consultant with the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp.
"It kind of cuts both ways," he said. "People want their odds increased, but they also want to have market share as well."
It will limit patient access, said Becky Dansky, legislative analyst with the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project. She called the decision to release half the permits in the first phase "disappointing."
"Fewer permits means fewer options and less access," she said. "It is also unfair to qualified businesses who may have to pay twice to go through the application process. That increases costs for businesses which will affect the prices of medication – again affecting patient access."
The department decided to hold back half the permits adjust distribution to meet patient needs once the program is up and running, said spokeswoman April Hutcheson.
"It's not that the law authorized too many," she said. "In terms of this initial phase, there are a lot of things that need to be worked out. We need to effectively manage and provide the best access we can. Dviding it up into phases is the best approach."
Under the plan, Lehigh and Northampton counties each are allocated one dispensary permit, whose holder can open up to three locations. Its next two locations must be in other counties.
The plan divides the state into six regions. Lehigh and Northampton counties are in the northeast region which includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Carbon, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties. The 10-county region will be allocated two grower-processor permits.
The southeast region, an area that includes Philadelphia and its suburbs plus Berks, Lancaster and Schuylkill counties, received the largest allocation of dispensary permits with 10. Each of the six regions received two grower/processor permits.
That was to make sure each region has an adequate supply of medical marijuana, Hutcheson said.
The Department of Health developed the regions and the quotas using medical data and comments received from patients and potential marijuana businesses.
Applicants are already using the new information on the regional quotas to plan their strategy, Bronstein said. The plan seems to strike a good balance that will both serve patients and spread the economic development benefits of medical marijuana around the state.
"We know a lot more today than we did yesterday," Bronstein said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State Sets Medical Marijuana Dispensary, Grower Quotas For Lehigh Valley
Author: Scott Kraus
Contact: 800-666-5492
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Morning Call
The Valley will be limited to two dispensary operators and at most two grower/processors in the first phase of the program, under guidelines issued Wednesday in an update from Health Secretary Dr. Karen Murphy.
Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program, signed into law in April, requires a regional distribution of dispensary and grower/processor permits, but the details were one of law's biggest unknowns. The Department of Health cleared that up Thursday.
The department will put permit applications for growers, processors and distributors on its website beginning Jan. 17, she said. Applications will be accepted between Feb. 20 and March 20, with permits issued in phases.
In phase one, the state expects to award 27 dispensary permits and 12 grower/processor permits. That's about half of those authorized by the law.
Competition for permits is expected to be fierce. The state says it has received correspondence from about 900 entities that have expressed an interest in either producing or dispensing medical marijuana under the state's recently passed law.
State officials estimate it could take up to 90 days to evaluate the applications, but that will depend on how many are submitted.
The decision to issue only half the state's available permits will decrease applicants' odds of winning, but ensure successful applicants a larger share of a market that is just getting off the ground, said Michael Bronstein, lead consultant with the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp.
"It kind of cuts both ways," he said. "People want their odds increased, but they also want to have market share as well."
It will limit patient access, said Becky Dansky, legislative analyst with the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy Project. She called the decision to release half the permits in the first phase "disappointing."
"Fewer permits means fewer options and less access," she said. "It is also unfair to qualified businesses who may have to pay twice to go through the application process. That increases costs for businesses which will affect the prices of medication – again affecting patient access."
The department decided to hold back half the permits adjust distribution to meet patient needs once the program is up and running, said spokeswoman April Hutcheson.
"It's not that the law authorized too many," she said. "In terms of this initial phase, there are a lot of things that need to be worked out. We need to effectively manage and provide the best access we can. Dviding it up into phases is the best approach."
Under the plan, Lehigh and Northampton counties each are allocated one dispensary permit, whose holder can open up to three locations. Its next two locations must be in other counties.
The plan divides the state into six regions. Lehigh and Northampton counties are in the northeast region which includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Carbon, Pike, Wayne, Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties. The 10-county region will be allocated two grower-processor permits.
The southeast region, an area that includes Philadelphia and its suburbs plus Berks, Lancaster and Schuylkill counties, received the largest allocation of dispensary permits with 10. Each of the six regions received two grower/processor permits.
That was to make sure each region has an adequate supply of medical marijuana, Hutcheson said.
The Department of Health developed the regions and the quotas using medical data and comments received from patients and potential marijuana businesses.
Applicants are already using the new information on the regional quotas to plan their strategy, Bronstein said. The plan seems to strike a good balance that will both serve patients and spread the economic development benefits of medical marijuana around the state.
"We know a lot more today than we did yesterday," Bronstein said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: State Sets Medical Marijuana Dispensary, Grower Quotas For Lehigh Valley
Author: Scott Kraus
Contact: 800-666-5492
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Morning Call
