Medical marijuana grower gets green light in Pennsylvania
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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A licensed grower and processor of medical marijuana in western Pennsylvania is the first with state approval to begin operating.
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Tuesday that the Department of Health has approved Cresco Yeltrah to begin growing and processing medical marijuana at its Jefferson County location. That makes it the first facility to be deemed fully operational in Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program.
The department expects 11 other licensed grower-processors to be operational. It issued the permits in June, selecting the 12 winners from among 177 applicants. The department has also issued permits to 27 entities to operate retail dispensaries.
It expects medical marijuana to be available to consumers next year. Wolf signed Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program into law last year.
Brett Sholtis was a health reporter for WITF/Transforming Health until early 2023. Sholtis is the 2021-2022 Reveal Benjamin von Sternenfels Rosenthal Grantee for Mental Health Investigative Journalism with the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism. His award-winning work on problem areas in mental health policy and policing helped to get a woman moved from a county jail to a psychiatric facility. Sholtis is a University of Pittsburgh graduate and a Pennsylvania Army National Guard Kosovo campaign veteran.
