July 26, 2017
The pieces of Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Program continue to fall into place ahead of an official launch in 2018.
A notice from the state department of health confirmed Wednesday that the program's practitioner registry is up and running, allowing doctors to complete the necessary training to begin providing medical marijuana prescriptions to patients.
“Since April 2016, we’ve been working to implement a patient-focused medical marijuana program for Pennsylvanians in desperate need of medication,” Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine said. “Many physicians treat these patients every day and understand the impact this medication could have on their treatment. Once these physicians register and complete the required continuing education, they can be approved to participate in the program.”
Temporary physician regulations released earlier this year spelled out how doctors with an active Pennsylvania license can be approved to prescribe medical marijuana for one of the state's 17 qualifying conditions. Those who participate in the program first must complete a four-hour course established by the department of health.
Two continuing education providers have been approved to offer the training required for practitioners: The Answer Page Inc. and Extra Step Assurance LLC.
A department survey of 191 Pennsylvania physicians found that 75 percent said they would register with the medical marijuana program.
To date, Pennsylvania has made the following progress on the law's implementation.
• Completed the Safe Harbor temporary guidelines and Safe Harbor Letter application process, as well as approved 282 applications.
• Completed temporary regulations for: growers/processors; dispensaries; practitioners; and laboratories, which have all appeared in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
• Released applications for medical training providers and laboratories.
• Issued permits to 27 entities for dispensaries and 12 entities for grower/processers.
• Developed the Medical Marijuana Physician Workgroup.
• Awarded a contract to MJ Freeway for electronic tracking of medical marijuana.
Physicians can find more information about Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Program here.
