HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Karen Murphy today announced applications for medical marijuana growers/processors and dispensaries are now available on the department’s Medical Marijuana Program website. Permit applications will be accepted from February 20 to March 20, 2017.

This is an important step forward in getting this valuable medication to patients who desperately need it. We’ve developed a thorough application that ensures the operators of medical marijuana grower/processor and dispensary facilities will meet our strict guidelines. Our goal is to deliver medication safely and responsibly and this application will help us do just that.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Karen Murphy

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 155 applications;
• Completed temporary regulations for growers/processors, dispensaries and laboratories which have appeared in the Pennsylvania Bulletin;
• Released public surveys to aid in the development of temporary regulations for growers/processors and dispensaries/laboratories;
• Developed the Medical Marijuana Physician Workgroup; and
• Released a Request for Quotations for Electronic Tracking IT solutions for the tracking of medical marijuana.

The medical marijuana program became effective on May 17, 2016, and is expected to be fully implemented by 2018. The program will offer medical marijuana to patients who are residents of Pennsylvania and under a physician’s care for the treatment of a serious medical condition as defined by Act 16.

Questions from applicants regarding the application process will be accepted by the department until February 8, 2017. All questions from applicants about the application process should be directed to ra-dhq4app@pa.gov. The department will periodically publish answers to common application questions on the Medical Marijuana Program website.

Questions about the medical marijuana program in general can be emailed to RA-DHMedMarijuana@pa.gov. Information is also available on the Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT: April Hutcheson, 717-787-1783

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Health