Maryland’s first medical cannabis crop, grown by ForwardGro, has been sent to a testing laboratory; however, officials still do not yet have a timetable when it will be available for patients, the Baltimore Sun reports. The crop was sent to the lab to help calibrate its machines before it can be properly tested and made for sale.
William Askinazi, owner of recently-approved dispensary Potomac Holistics, said he anticipates having product for sale in two to four weeks.
“We’re ready to go,” he said in the report, adding that he has received at least 800 inquiries from patients over the last eight weeks. “We’re waiting for the growers.”
Patrick Jameson, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission executive director, said that “no one should have any expectations” about when products would be made available, and warned that initial supplies “will be limited.”
On Tuesday, officials did approve operations for eight more companies, including two dispensaries, two testing labs, four processors, and one cultivator. More than 100 companies, from cultivators to testing labs, have been given preliminary licenses but have not yet been approved to come online.
According to Jameson, 12,491 patients have been registered in Maryland‘s medical cannabis program, along with 550 medical professionals.