Harrisburg, PA – Department of Health Secretary Karen Murphy today announced the department has started working on temporary regulations in order to implement the medical marijuana program in Pennsylvania and will be seeking input from the public, stakeholders, and partners throughout the process.

The first temporary regulation will be for growers/processors so that those entities can come online and begin to produce products. A survey is available on the department’s website to allow for input on the development of this particular regulation.

“Our vision is to have a high quality, efficient, and compliant medical marijuana program for Pennsylvania residents with serious medical conditions as defined by Act 16,” said Secretary Murphy. “We are also committed to being transparent and communicating effectively throughout the process with the public, stakeholders, and our partners, and are very interested in their feedback as we develop temporary regulations.”

The department intends to issue the remainder of the temporary regulations sequentially for dispensaries, physicians, patients and caregivers, and laboratories and anticipates this being completed by the end of this calendar year. The temporary regulations will explain the medical marijuana program’s operation, including how applications will be submitted, and will be in place for two years from the date they are published. The department will seek input via surveys on its website throughout the temporary regulations process.

In addition to writing temporary regulations, the Department of Health is also reviewing the 123 applications it received for the newly created Medical Marijuana Program Director position. The department anticipates having the new director on board by mid-July.

The medical marijuana program was signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf on April 17, 2016 and became effective one month later on May 17. The implementation of the program is expected to take between 18 and 24 months and, when completed, will offer medical marijuana to patients who are residents of Pennsylvania and under a physician’s care for the treatment of a serious medical condition as defined by Act 16.

Questions about the medical marijuana program can be emailed to RA-DHMedMarijuana@pa.gov. Information is also available on the Department of Health website at www.health.pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT: Penny Ickes, 717-787-1783

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