NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2018 - 28

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Feature

The Pennsylvania Medical
Marijuana Program

M

edical Marijuana is coming to
NEPA! Its use can be traced back
as far as China, 2727 b.c. and its
U.S. production was required in colonial
Jamestown for export back to England.
It's been stigmatized and glorified but one
thing is clear - the support for medical
marijuana is now widespread. Currently,
59% of the U.S. population lives in a state
where some form of cannabis is legalized.
Our nation may be divided on many fronts
but the majority of Americans agree on the
legalized use of medical cannabis.

This past June, the Pennsylvania Department of Health granted 12 grower/processor
permits and 27 dispensary permits throughout the State. Northeast PA has two
permitted grower/processors and 4 permitted dispensaries, each with the ability to open
2 additional sites for a total of 12 dispensaries.
Soon, permittees will be deemed operational
by the Department of Health and by Spring,
products will be on the shelves and dispensaries open for business.

Products Permitted

The Medical Marijuana ("MM") Program
in Pennsylvania ("Program") limits the
type of MM product that may be dispensed.
Presently, the following forms of MM are
permitted: pill, oil, topical (gel, cream,
ointment), a form suitable for vaporization or nebulization, tincture, or liquid.
Dry leaf may not be dispensed, although
the MM Advisory Board is expected to
make a recommendation this Spring on
its inclusion in the Program. Since MM is
not covered by insurance and will be an

expense borne by patients, including only
processed forms may limit patient access
as they may be cost prohibitive. There is
a strong interest in allowing dry leaf into
the Program to enable patient access to
affordable product. Edibles may not be
lawfully dispensed either but there is no
prohibition on a patient's use of dispensed
oils or liquids to create their own edibles.

filed with the Department of Health, and
placed in the patient's healthcare record.
The patient will use the certification to
register for the Program and obtain a
Medical Marijuana Identification Card.
The patient registration requires the payment of a $50 processing fee, which may
be waived or reduced upon a showing of
financial hardship.

Physician
Registration

A physician certification is valid for up to
one year and may contain the physician's
recommendation of dosage and medical
marijuana type. If the certification does
not contain a specific recommendation, the
pharmacist or physician at the dispensary
will determine the appropriate dosage and
type of product best suited for the patient.
A registered physician may not issue a
certification for his/her own use, a family
member or a member of his/her household.

The process to obtain medical marijuana
begins with the physician. To avoid the
delay experienced in other states, Pennsylvania made its physician registry available
prior to the availability of product. In fact,
any physician licensed to practice medicine
in PA may register for the program at www.
padohmmp.com. The State approved two
online sources, www.theanswerpage.com
or www.cannabisexpertise.com, to satisfy
its 4 hour physician training requirement.
Physicians will receive CME credit for
completing the training. Once the training and registration is completed and the
physician is approved by the State, s/he
will be listed on the Physician Registry on
the Department of Health website. The
Registry is available to the public and lists
registered physicians by county.
A physician found on the Physician
Registry can certify that a patient has
a qualifying condition and can recommend the use of medical marijuana for
patients likely to receive a therapeutic
or palliative benefit. A copy of the certification will be given to the patient,
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VITAL SIGNS

Patient Caregivers

If a patient is unable to obtain medical
marijuana her/himself, s/he may designate
up to 2 caregivers to act on her behalf.
To become a caregiver, one must register
with proof of Pennsylvania residency and
complete a criminal background check.
A caregiver must be at least 21 years old
and may be appointed by up to 5 patients.
The ability of a caregiver to act on behalf
of multiple patients should benefit those
in a nursing home or assisted living setting as well as patients receiving home
health or hospice care. Any patient under
the age of 18 must have a parent, legal
guardian or spouse act as a caregiver on
his/her behalf.
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NEPA Vital Signs - Winter Spring 2018

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