The rollout has been anything but smooth as dispensaries soon found themselves unable to meet the demand for medical cannabis, causing prices to skyrocket. Html?mobi=true”>spiked to between $80 and $144 a gram, considerably more expensive than a registered for the state’s medical cannabis program, and over 6,000 of those have been certified by a doctor. More than 2,000 of these patients have already purchased medical cannabis products at the six dispensaries that are currently open, quickly buying up the stores’ stock. The supply restrictions could loosen up in the near future as two new growers-processors intend to ship their first batches of product by the end of the month. New dispensaries are also planning to open to the public as soon as their shelves are stocked later in March.
Eventually, the state’s 12 licensed grower-processors will be supplying 51 dispensaries, and regulators are currently working on approving additional dispensaries. Until all of these businesses are fully operational, the state’s medical cannabis market may still face shortages and high prices. Html?mobi=true”>cannabis flower itself.
At a recent meeting, the state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board decided to recommend allowing the sale and use of smokable medical cannabis. The board will review this recommendation on April 9th and then forward their report to the Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, Rachel Levine. It will be up the state legislature to vote on whether or not to approve this recommendation. “Of all forms of medical marijuana, flower offers the fastest speed to efficacy and the lowest price point per milligram of active ingredient.