The effects, if any, of the federal order reclassifying medical marijuana on the Pennsylvania program are not yet known, a spokesperson for the state Department of Health said late Thursday, as the department is still reviewing the order.
“The Department of Health and the Bureau of Medical Marijuana are committed to ensuring a high quality, efficient and compliant Medical Marijuana Program for Commonwealth residents with a serious medical condition as defined by the Act,” said Eli Steiker-Ginzberg, public information officer for the Department of Health.
President Donald Trump’s acting attorney general Todd Blanche signed an order Thursday to reclassify state-licensed medical marijuana to alter the way it’s regulated from a category of drugs designated for medical use with a high chance of abuse, to a less controlled category. The order also will provide medical marijuana operators a tax break and will make it easier for researchers to study the drug’s effects.
Pennsylvania is one of 40 states that has medical marijuana systems. Twenty-four states plus Washington, D.C., allow legal adult recreational use of marijuana.
To register for the medical marijuana program, residents must have one of the medical conditions listed on the Department of Health’s website. They then need to register on the website, obtain a certification from an approved doctor and pay for the card before visiting a Pennsylvania dispensary to obtain the drug. The fee for the card is $50.
The Department of Health website contains a list of doctors who have been approved to participate in the program. As of April 1, there were seven licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in Lancaster County.
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