Dry leaf marijuana coming to Washington dispensary next week
The Healing Center on West Chestnut Street in Washington is one of 44 medical marijuana dispensaries across the commonwealth that will be offering dry leaf marijuana in the days ahead.
Next Monday, the Healing Center will stock dry leaf marijuana, which patients can vaporize but not smoke. It will be one of 28 medical marijuana dispensaries in the commonwealth receiving the drug. Sales of dry leaf marijuana began Wednesday at dispensaries in Pittsburgh, Butler, Erie and other locations.
Until now, the dispensaries have been selling medical marijuana in the form of topical medication that can be applied to specific places on the body, as well as oils and pills.
The Healing Center will be hosting a monthlong event to introduce patients to dry leaf marijuana.
Patients who want the dry leaf form of marijuana need to have their medical marijuana ID card with them in order to receive it, and must keep it in the original container when transporting it. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, said in a statement that dry leaf marijuana “provides a cost-effective option for patients.”
The Healing Center opened in Washington in late June at 799 W. Chestnut St., and is so far the only medical marijuana dispensary in Washington County. The facility also has holistic services like massage therapy and yoga. The Healing Center plans to open locations in Monroeville this fall and in Cranberry Township next year.
The arrival of dry leaf marijuana in Pennsylvania is happening at the same time additional permits for growing and processing medical marijuana have been issued. It was announced Tuesday that PennAlt Organics Inc., in Lemont Furnace, Fayette County, is one of 13 entities that have received a green light from Harrisburg in a second round of grow-process permits. AgriMed in Carmichaels, Greene County, was given a permit last year.
Pennsylvania is one of 30 states, along with the District of Columbia, that have legalized medical marijuana. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the state’s medical marijuana program into law in April 2016, with Pennsylvania residents being treated for one of 21 medical conditions being eligible. Those conditions include autism, cancer, glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease, sickle cell anemia and multiple sclerosis.