Pennsylvania Seed-to-Sale Glitch Blocks Patient Access

Pennsylvania officials have deemed the state’s medical cannabis businesses as essential and the Health Department has temporarily removed the five-patient cap for caregivers in order to ensure access; however, a technical glitch is preventing patients from registering with new caregivers, according to a Citizen’s Voice report.

The state’s cannabis patient and caregiver registry is managed by MJ Freeway, which said that work was underway to fix the glitch last week but as of yesterday patients could still not register with a caregiver if that caregiver had reached their five-patient cap. Caregivers are allowed to pick up medical cannabis from dispensaries and bring it to patients.

Additionally, the state has implemented curbside pickup for patients and some dispensaries have set aside some of their operating hours each day to serve older and at-risk patients.

Jason Erkes of Cresco Labs told WESA that the adjustments are a “new normal for everyone” but the company is trying to “mitigate risk.” Cresco is encouraging patients to order online, set a time to visit, show their ID, and get their product.

“There are a lot of people that rely on cannabis for their day-to-day wellness and it’s important that we have access for them to get their medicine.” – Erkes to WESA

Pennsylvania has about 153,000 registered patients enrolled in the two-year-old medical cannabis program.

In most states that have declared a stay-at-home order amid the coronavirus pandemic, cannabis businesses are considered essential services; however, in Massachusetts only medical cannabis sales are allowed as officials say recreational sales tempt out-of-staters to travel to Massachusetts and risk spreading the virus.