Medical Cannabis

Governor Tom Wolf signed off on Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program in April of last year.  Medicinal marijuana can now be prescribed for a number of ailments including cancer, HIV/AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and PTSD.  The marijuana will be dispensed in the form of pills, liquids or oils; smokable cannabis is not part of the plan.

Last month, the Pennsylvania Department of Health issued permits to growers and dispensaries, moving the process forward.  There are still many legal obstacles and many investors in the industry that did not see their ventures receive permitting.  Distribution in PA is scheduled for January of 2018, but there are many uncertainties, including the response by Jeff Session’s Department of Justice to state legalization.

Smart Talk looks at the state of medical cannabis in Pennsylvania; where we are in the process, how the legal questions should and will be answered and how finance will be managed.  We will be joined by Heather Stauffer, the LNP staff reporter covering medicinal marijuana in the region.  Judi Cassel of Cannabis Law PA will parse out the legalese of the industry.  John Pohlhaus is the CEO of Franklin Labs, a marijuana cultivator and distributor and he will talk about navigating a company through the morass of local, state and federal codes and Patrick Nightingale, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society will discuss counseling doctors, patients and dispensaries on the commerce and consumption of therapeutic marijuana.

Franklin and Marshall College professor of political science G. Terry Madonna sits in for a vacationing Scott LaMar.

emails

– What are the long term (20+ year) effects on the brain?  – Donna

– Since it’s an illegal substance per federal law, how do purvayors and prescribers handle banking the proceeds?     – Trudie, Lancaster