A California company wants to build a cannabis growing and processing operation in Bartonsville.
Consultants representing CannaMed of Thousand Oaks, California has asked the Pocono Township Board of Supervisors to clarify its zoning definitions to allow it to grow medical marijuana. The township regulations already allow pharmaceutical manufacturing by Swiftwater-based Sanofi Pasteur.
The grow operation would cultivate, harvest and process cannabis for medical use. Medical marijuana became legal in Pennsylvania in April 2016 and state health department officials have been building regulations in anticipation of the growth, processing and sale of medical products to approved patients.
The grow operation is one of two components of the medical marijuana law. Dispensaries are the other. Both would be licensed separately by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
Nic Easley, a cannabis consultant with Comprehensive Cannabis Consulting told supervisors the building, at 142 Route 611, would be about 45,000 square feet and both grow the marijuana and process it into state approved delivery forms, including pills and oils. Marijuana in leaf form will still be illegal in Pennsylvania.
Easley said the facility would have high security, surveillance and require background checks of all employees and owners. The only sign on the building will say no one under 18 is permitted on the property.
"This will not be some Cheech and Chong operation. You won’t know it’s there. You won’t smell or hear anything. It will be like a metal fabricating facility. There won’t be any joints there," he said.
Individual sales will not be permitted at the site. Growers and processors can only sell to a dispensary.
Pennsylvania will only license two grower/processor permits in what it calls Region Two of the state, which includes Monroe County and spans from Susquehanna County down to Lehigh County. It will issue four dispensary permits, with a maximum of 12 individual dispensaries in the region.
CannaMed will still have to go through a state application process before it is considered for a grow license. Only 12 of those will be awarded throughout the state.
Easley estimated the facility would create between 30 to 50 jobs.
Comprehensive Cannabis Consulting filed a petition for an amendment to the Pocono Township zoning code for a light manufacturing definition change to include medical marijuana, a regulated agricultural commodity.
Time will be of the essence for the operation. The state deadline for grow applications is in March, and Easley said the state expects applicants to have local approvals. Zoning changes can take longer.
The state defines medical marijuana as marijuana obtained for a certified medical use by a Pennsylvania resident with a serious medical condition, and is limited by statute in Pennsylvania to the following forms: pill: oil; topical forms; including gel; creams or ointments; a form medically appropriate for administration by vaporization or nebulization, excluding dry leaf or plant form; tincture; and liquid.
Medical marijuana was approved by the state after studies had shown that medical marijuana can assist patients suffering from certain serious medical conditions by alleviating pain and improving their quality of life, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
The implementation of the medical marijuana program is expected to be completed in early 2018, according to the health department.
"When implementation is completed, patients who are residents of Pennsylvania and under a Pennsylvania-licensed physician’s care for the treatment of one of the 17 serious medical conditions, may lawfully and safely obtain medical marijuana in the commonwealth as permitted by the Act," the Department of Health said.
The state strictly defines serious medical conditions that are eligible for medical marijuana usage. Those include, 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 and AIDS, Huntington’s disease, Inflammatory Bowel disease, intractable seizures, Multiple Sclerosis, neuropathies, Parkinson’s disease, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, 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, and Sickle Cell Anemia.
Cost of doing business
Applications will be available to potential growers and dispensaries on Jan. 17, according to April Hutchinson of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Permit applications will be accepted from Feb. 20 until March 20.
It won’t be cheap. Growers will be required to submit a non-refundable $10,000 application fee, a permit fee of $200,000, which is refundable if the permit is not granted; and proof of $2 million in capital with $500,000 that must be on deposit with a financial institution.
Dispensaries will have to pay a non-refundable application fee of $5,000, a permit fee of $30,000, which is refundable if the permit is not granted; and proof of $150,000 in capital.
Both grower and dispensary applicants will have to provide a description of business organization and activities; federal and state criminal background checks; a statement indicating the applicant is of good moral character; ability to maintain effective security and control to prevent diversion, abuse or other illegal conduct; and provide a diversity plan.
There is a caveat to the law, though. The health department notes that the U.S. Department of Justice has the authority to enforce civil and criminal federal laws relating to marijuana possession and use, regardless of state law.
"Growing, distributing, and or possessing marijuana in any capacity, except through a federally-approved research program, is a violation of federal law, and no state or local law provides a legal defense to a violation of federal law," the Pennsylvania health department said.
However, in light of current U.S. Department of Justice guidance, it may be unlikely that federal authorities would bring civil enforcement actions or criminal investigations and prosecutions against growers, processors, dispensaries, physicians, seriously ill individuals or caregivers as long as they are acting pursuant to the Pennsylvania law, according to the department of health.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Site Proposed In Tannersville
Author: Howard Frank
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Website: Pocono Record
