HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Karen Murphy today encouraged individuals interested in applying for a medical marijuana grower/processor and/or dispensary permit to complete a brief survey on the department’s website.
“One of our primary focuses as we continue to develop this program is to make sure that patients with serious medical conditions have access to facilities to obtain medical marijuana.” said Secretary Murphy. “As we continue to work towards the release of applications for grower/processor and dispensary permits, we want to engage the community and determine both the level of interest in seeking either of these permits, and more importantly, where potential applicants intend to open these two types of facilities.”
This is the most recent in a series of surveys released by the Department of Health to solicit public input on the program’s development. The department previously released a survey for patients and caregivers, which is still open to the public.
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 126 applications to date;
- Released public surveys to aid in the development of temporary regulations for growers/processors and dispensaries/laboratories; and
- Released a Request for Information for Electronic Tracking IT solutions for the tracking of medical marijuana.
Full implementation of the program is expected to take between 18 and 24 months. The program will provide access to medical marijuana for patients who are Pennsylvania residents under a physician’s care for the treatment of a serious medical condition as defined by Act 16.
More information about the medical marijuana program is available at www.health.pa.gov.
Tags: Karen Murphy, PA SB 3, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania medical marijuana