12 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Heading to Philly Region
By Alicia Victoria Lozano ••
Lindy Snider, daughter of late Flyers owner Ed Snider, sat down with NBC10 Reporter Alicia Lozano to discuss her family’s involvement in the medical marijuana industry.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health announced awardees of 27 dispensary permits throughout the state, including three in Philadelphia and nine in surrounding counties.
Permits in the immediate area include:
PharmaCann Penn, Restore Integrative Wellness Center and Holistic Pharma in Philly. Two dispensaries - Ilera Healthcare and TerraVida Holistic Centers - are heading to Montgomery County. Chester, Delaware, Bucks, Berks and Lancaster, Lehigh and Northampton counties will each get one dispensary.
Conspicuously missing from that list was Snider Health, spearheaded by the relatives of former Flyers owner Ed Snider. His daughter, Lindy, was an early investor in the industry and has been vocal about joining the Pennsylvania market after already having business interests in other states.
She told NBC10 in the spring that she hoped to change people's minds about medical cannabis and shape the nascent economy in her home state.
“Being a family that’s been very involved in Pennsylvania and Philadelphia for a long time both in business and in philanthropy, we see [medical cannabis] as an unbelievable sort of dovetail of both those things,” she said.
Those who were awarded permits have six months to become operational. Each dispensary permit holder can open a total of three locations, though some have opted to not open all locations immediately.
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“This has been a highly competitive process and the department received hundreds of quality applications,” said John Collins, director of the Office of Medical Marijuana.
“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. We remain on track to provide medication to patients in 2018.”
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AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - FEBRUARY 07: A cannabis plant grows in the Amsterdam Cannabis College, a non profit charitable organisation that gives information on cannabis and hemp use on February 7, 2007 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city council in Amsterdam has recently voted in favour of introducing a citywide ban on smoking marijuana in public areas. A successful trial ban in the De Baarsjes district of Amsterdam has been declared a success after a reduction in anti social behaviour. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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A tall flowering plant indigenous to tropical and temperate climates. Popular varieties of the plant are cannabis sativa and cannabis indica, both of which contain psychoactive properties that produce euphoria. The cannabis plant can be used for marijuana or hemp. It can be grown outdoors, indoors or using hydroponic technology.
Marijuana refers to the dried, crushed flower tops and leaves of the cannabis plant that can be smoked, baked or turned into other digestible forms to produce a high.
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Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is a chemical compound found in cannabis that creates the high often associated with marijuana. Scientifically speaking, THC is a cannabinoid, naturally occurring compounds that interact with receptors in the brain to create said high. Researchers throughout the world are still working to understand how many cannabinoids exist, but theories range from the dozens to possibly hundreds.
Kathy Young/AP
Cannabidiol is the sister compound to THC and does not contain psychoactive properties. In other words, it does not get people high. Instead, CBD can be turned into medicine to treat chronic pain, symptoms associated with cancer, epilepsy and a host of other conditions. Epidiolex, pictured here, is used in the treatment of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a debilitating form of early onset childhood epilepsy.
Alicia Lozano
Hemp is a member of the cannabis sativa family that does not produce euphoria. Instead, the plant has historically been used in farming, manufacturing and cooking. It was considered a lucrative cash crop when the country was first founded.
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No longer a fringe concept, medical marijuana is now legal in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Pennsylvania's program will debut early in 2018, but Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and New York already have laws on the books. In Pennsylvania, only patients with qualifying conditions will be eligible for acquire their medicine. It cannot be in plant form.
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Adult use recreational marijuana is now legal in eight states — Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts — and the District of Columbia. Delaware and New Jersey are both weighing upgrading their medical programs to include recreational use for adults over the age of 21.
San Francisco Department of Health via AP
Cannabis can be used as an ingredient in edible treats, like these gummy rings. They can either contain THC to get people high or CBD to treat medical conditions. Dispensaries usually offer both, but it's imperative that patients ask about THC levels before buying an unfamiliar product. Edibles will be available to qualifying patients in Pennsylvania's new medical marijuana program.
AP/David Goldman
Cannabis oil, either THC or CBD-based, is another popular form of ingesting medicinal marijuana. It can be administered directly to the mouth or added to food.
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Similar to oil, tinctures come in liquid form and can be added to food or ingested directly. Tinctures are made from cannabis extract diluted with small amounts of alcohol. They can also be made using glycerin and water instead of alcohol.
Philadelphia Councilwoman Cherelle Parker said she is "extremely disappointed" about one of the city dispensary locations. The dispensary in question will be located at 8913 Stenton Ave. near Ivy Hill Cemetery and Crematory. It's one of three dispensaries approved for an organization called TerraVida. In April, several residents complained during a public hearing that adding a dispensary would only fuel traffic, litter and parking concerns.
"The community and I remain vehemently opposed to this site, given its close proximity to a daycare and a myriad of other serious concerns expressed by neighbors, including public safety, security, parking and traffic," Parker said in a statement. "This is not a debate about the merits of medical marijuana – which the community and I both support – but it is solely about the proposed use at this location."
State Rep. Chris Rabb, a Democrat who represents East Mount Airy, also denounced the Stenton Avenue dispensary.
"I have grave concerns that revolve around public safety issues related to a cash-only business that will be open 7 days per week with armed guards on a corridor not unfamiliar with violent crime," he said in a statement.
"I recently closed my district office for the afternoon to go door to door with my entire staff to inform residents about this matter and my strong opposition to the proposed location of this dispensary despite my support of medical cannabis itself."
