On April 5, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PADOH), Office of Medical Marijuana (OMM), which oversees the commonwealth’s medical marijuana program, initiated phase II of its licensing process. The deadline to file applications for grower/processor permits and dispensary permits was May 17, and the deadline to file applications for certification of Academic Clinical Research Centers (ACRC) was May 3.

In this follow-on licensing round for grower/processors and dispensaries, Pennsylvania will nearly double the size of the commonwealth’s medical marijuana program, with the commonwealth expected to issue 13 additional grower/processor permits and 23 additional dispensary permits in phase II, which will bring the total number of permits to 25 growers/processors and 50 dispensaries. In June 2017, in phase I, the commonwealth issued 12 grower/processor permits and 27 dispensary permits. Each dispensary may have no more than three separate locations (i.e., 150 total dispensaries are authorized under law).