More than 3,800 patients and more than 200 caregivers have registered for Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program –– and some of those individuals will flock to Bradford to get their prescriptions filled.
The state chose Bradford as one of the dispensary sites. The Dubois Wellness Center LLC is expected to open at 109 Main St., the former location of the La Mixteca Mexican restaurant, next year.
Bradford Main Street Manager Chelsea Schwab said she believes that dispensary will have no negative impact on the business district. In fact, she said the pharmacy “may even bring more positive effects into play in future years.”
The local facility’s timeline includes installing exterior security cameras and exterior access controls on the building on an estimated date of Nov. 15; receiving a certificate of occupancy, Jan. 18; passing inspections required to begin operations, Jan. 20; and starting operations, Jan. 25, according to the center’s state-approved application.
In the meantime, the Medical Marijuana Patient and Caregiver Registry launched last week.
“When patients or caregivers are registering, they need to be sure to follow the instructions on the registry,” said Acting Secretary for the Department of Health and Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine. “It is especially important to enter in your identification information exactly as it appears on your driver’s license or state-issued ID.”
After signing up for the program, individuals would visit an approved doctor to become certified with the program. There are no doctors approved across the region, though, so people would have to travel to such municipalities as DuBois, Clearfield or Meadville.
“I want to (apply), but according to the website, there isn’t a doctor in our area yet participating,” said Kelli Lunn Swanson via The Era’s Facebook page.
Several conditions would be allowed to be treated with medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism, cancer, Crohn’s disease, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Huntington’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, intractable seizures, multiple sclerosis, neuropathies, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, sickle cell anemia or severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective.
“The success of the patient registry one week since it was announced is another indicator of the need for this vital medication, and a testament to the department’s commitment to making medical marijuana available to patients in 2018,” said Gov. Tom Wolf, who signed the medical marijuana program into law in 2016.
To register for the program see medicalmarijuana.pa.gov. For more information about the Medical Marijuana Program, contact RA-DHMedMarijuana@pa.gov or visit www.health.pa.gov.
Dr. Glen Mesaros of Melnick of Moffitt, and Mesaros ENT Associates of Lebanon, who is listed as the chief medical officer for Dubois Wellness Center, did not immediately return a call seeking comment by press time.
