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Last week, Pennsylvania’s governor signed a measure that would allow all licensed medical cannabis grower-processors to sell their products directly to consumers. This came just days after the Senate approved the measure, which had been amended to grant independent dispensaries grower permits.
Under the bill, the state’s health department will establish a process that allows the 10 independent cannabis grower-processors in the state to apply to acquire dispensary permits for direct commerce. In addition to this, the four independent dispensaries in the state can also obtain permits to grow products in-house.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Chris Gebhard, replaces current regulations that prohibit more than five of the twenty-five grower-processor license holders in the state from holding dispensary licenses.
Under the current law, other holders of the grower-processor licenses have to sell their products to licensed dispensaries so that they can, in turn, be sold to patients. This had given some operators dominance over the state’s medical cannabis industry. With these new changes, it is expected that almost $2 million in revenue from permit and application fees will be generated. In the coming years, Pennsylvania should expect to generate roughly $90,000 a year from the same. Part of this revenue will be allocated to the Department of Health to offset administrative costs.
One provision in the resolution will prohibit licensees from permit transfers, which legislators argue will help prevent bigger companies from buying up permits and gaining monopoly over the market.
It is expected that Pennsylvania may soon legalize the recreational use of marijuana, just as other states in the region have done. Last month, voters in the state of Ohio legalized adult-use marijuana following the passage of the Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis. The new measure, which went into effect earlier this month, will permit individuals aged 21 and older in the state to legally use and purchase the drug. Other states, such as New Jersey, legalized adult-use marijuana years ago.
A House committee in Pennsylvania recently held a second informational hearing on cannabis legalization as the call to enact reform continues to grow. Governor Josh Shapiro as well as U.S. Senator John Fetterman stated that the time had come for the state to make the change. Two bipartisan legislators are already looking for cosponsors to support their cause. The legislators, Senators Sharis Street and Camera Bartolotta, recently presented a resolution that would decriminalize cannabis and make simple possession a civil offense instead of a misdemeanor crime.
The ongoing evolution of the cannabis landscape in Pennsylvania is likely to be seen by the industry and leading companies in other jurisdictions such as Cresco Labs Inc. (CSE: CL) (OTCQX: CRLBF) as steps in the right direction.
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