Six licenses to dispense medical marijuana products at 14 locations in Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties were unveiled Thursday by the state health department.
The dispensary licenses follow on the heels of the release last week of permits to operate medical marijuana grow facilities. Both grow permits allotted to the eight-county southeast region were granted to facilities in Berks County.
The dispensary permits, for obvious reasons, were spread out a bit more evenly and will be the locations where patients with doctor’s prescriptions can purchase medical marijuana products created at the state’s 12 grow and processing locations.
The products will not be hallucinogenic and cannot be smoked.
Rather, they will come in the form of oils, lotions and other medical delivery methods and can be prescribed for the 17 different ailments the new law identifies as being able to be treated by cannabis products.
The list of ailments includes epilepsy, cancer, autism, glaucoma, HIV, Parkinsons and post traumatic stress disorder.
Here are the locations for the local permit holders, as well as some of the second and third locations they are allowed to open:
Berks County
* SMPB Retail LLC – Dispensary name is Harvest of Reading, 2701 N. 5th Street Highway, Reading.
* Franklin Bioscience-Penn LLC – Dispensary name is Bristol Dispensary, 3225 N. 5th Street Highway, Muhlenberg.
Bucks County
* Franklin Bioscience-Penn LLC – Dispensary name is Bristol Dispensary, 2412-2414 Durham Road, Bristol.
* Terra Vida Holistic Centers, LLC – Dispensary name is Tera Vida Holistic Centers, 64 Main St., Sellersville.
* Holistic Pharma LLC – Dispensary name is Holistic Pharma LLC, 4201 Neshaminy Blvd., Bensalem.
Chester County
* Bay LLC – Dispensary name is Cure Pennsylvania, 500 Kimberton Road, Phoenixville.
* Chamounix Ventures LLC – Dispensary name is Keystone Dispensaries, 420 W. Lancaster Ave., Devon.
Delaware County
* AES Compassionate Care LLC – Dispensary name is as Grassroots Cannabis, 130 South St. Road, Upper Darby
* Chamounix Ventures LLC – Dispensary name is Keystone Dispensaries, 622 Industrial Park Drive B, Yeadon.
Montgomery County
* Ilera Healthcare – Dispensary name is Ilera Healthcare, 420 Plymouth Road, Plymouth Meeting.
* Terra Vida Holistic Centers, LLC – Dispensary name is Tera Vida Holistic Centers, 1626 Old York Road, Abington.
* Bay LLC – Dispensary name is Cure Pennsylvania, 475 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington.
* Restore Integrative Wellness Center, LLC – Dispensary name is Restore Integrative Wellness Center, 8003 Old York Road, Elkins Park.
* Holistic Pharma LLC – Dispensary name is Holistic Pharma LLC, 2030 W. Main St., West Norriton.
* Chamounix Ventures LLC – Dispensary name is Keystone Dispensaries, 120 Hansen Access Road, King of Prussia.
These permit holders now have six months to get up and operational before they can begin to distribute medical marijuana products.
All total, the Pennsylvania Office of Medical Marijuana received 457 applications: 177 for growers and processors; and 280 for dispensaries.
There will be a total of 52 dispensaries throughout Pennsylvania as a result of the decisions announced Thursday.
In the southeast region, every county and Philadelphia will have at least one dispensary except for Schuylkill County, the western-most county in the region.
“This has been a highly competitive process and the department received hundreds of quality applications,” John Collins, Director of the Office of Medical Marijuana said in a prepared statement.
“Once this program is fully operational, patients with serious medical conditions will have locations throughout the commonwealth where they can purchase medication to help in their treatment,” he said, adding, “we remain on track to provide medication to patients in 2018.”
Medical marijuana was legalized last year in Pennsylvania, making it one of 44 states and Washington, D.C., that have passed some kind of marijuana legalization law.
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law and Attorney General Jeff Sessions recent announcement to vigorously prosecute those laws has cast some doubt on how these state laws will fare.
Nevertheless, Pennsylvania is moving forward and expects patients and caregivers to be able to register in September.
