State College A group with ties to State College and Colorado has asked the borough council to support its application to bring a medical marijuana business to town.
It is the first such inquiry the borough has received since the state enacted a law last year legalizing medical marijuana.
Four members of the group spoke at the Jan. 9 council meeting seeking support for a permit application with the state, including Shandygaff owner Mark Sapia and general manager Dan LoCasale.
The council took no immediate action.
We are a holistic cannabis group based out of Colorado, LoCasale told the council.
The speakers referenced health and economic benefits of bringing a facility to the community.
We all know someone in some way affected by a life-threatening or debilitating disease Parkinsons, autism, PTSD, cancer, LoCasale said.
With our experience we believe we can help to provide alternative medical care for people suffering from these ailments, he added.
The group at the council meeting also included two Penn State graduates who spoke of the economic benefits of the program in Colorado.
OPENING A DIALOGUE
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in April 2016 signed into law a measure legalizing medical marijuana. The state Department of Health will begin accepting applications for grower/processors and dispensaries Monday, Feb. 20, with a goal of having the program fully implemented next year.
Were here tonight because we want to ask for your support, open a dialogue in this highly competitive industry, LoCasale told the council.
With your support we can bring the business to the region well be able to help provide jobs, create tax revenue for the community, and for those who seek to use our service, hopefully a better quality of life for residents of State College.
Sapia said the group was seeking a letter stating that the State College Borough is in full support of us obtaining a grow-and-dispensing license for a business like ours.
Mayor Elizabeth Goreham told the group at the meeting that, I think you needed to talk to our manager first to give him the information.
Borough manager Tom Fountaine said he has not heard from group members since the meeting.
The Gazette sought more details from Sapia and LoCasale, but in a Jan. 23 email, LoCasale declined to discuss the matter further now due to the sensitive nature of what we are doing.
Fountaine said he has received no other inquiries about medical marijuana businesses in the borough.
MEDICAL CONDITIONS COVERED
The following conditions are covered under the state act legalizing medical marijuana, according to the Department of Health:
■ Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
■ Autism
■ Cancer
■ Crohns disease
■ Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity
■ Epilepsy
■ Glaucoma
■ HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) / AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
■ Huntingtons disease
■ Inflammatory bowel disease
■ Intractable seizures
■ Multiple sclerosis
■ Neuropathies
■ Parkinsons 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
■ Sickle cell anemia
To participate in the medical marijuana program, patients must register with the department; obtain a physicians certification that they suffer from one of the 17 serious medical conditions, as defined in the act; apply for a medical marijuana ID card and submit the application fee; and obtain medical marijuana from an approved Pennsylvania dispensary.
According to the Department of Health, the act:
■ Provides for funding for research institutions to study the use of medical marijuana to treat other serious conditions
■ Establishes an advisory committee that will review these research findings and make recommendations to the legislature
■ Provides revenue to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for drug abuse prevention, counseling and treatment services, as well as to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency for distribution to local police departments.
The bill imposes a 5 percent tax on the gross receipts that a grower/processor gets from the sale of medical marijuana to another grower or processor or a dispensary. The sales are exempt from the state sales tax.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Support Sought For Medical Marijuana Business In State College
Author: Mark Brackenbury
Contact: (814) 238-3500
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: State College
