Cresco Yeltrah has been given the greenlight by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to begin medical cannabis production – it is the first licensed operator to receive the go-ahead in the state. The firm, one of 12 licensed in Pennsylvania, is based in Jefferson County, northeast of Pittsburgh.
Cresco has already integrated with the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system and is now able to begin accepting seeds and clones.
“Every day we hear from patients who are desperately waiting for medical marijuana to help alleviate the symptoms of their serious medical conditions,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in a press release. “My message to them today is that Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program is moving forward and we will have medication to them sometime in 2018. Cresco Yeltrah will now be able to grow medical marijuana, making sure that patients will not have to wait much longer.”
Acting Health Secretary and Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine said she expects the state’s 11 other licensed producers to be ready to cultivate and process medical cannabis “in the coming weeks.”
“We are working with them, as well as the dispensaries, to ensure the program stays on track,” Levine said in a statement. “Patients are our first priority, and we want to get medication to them as safely and efficiently as possible.”
Officials expect the program to be fully implemented by 2018.