A new medical marijuana dispensary is set to open in State College this weekend. Here’s what to know
Centre County’s second medical marijuana dispensary is set to open this weekend.
Curaleaf, which operates in 23 states, announced Friday that it will open its dispensary at 1248 S. Atherton St. — the former site of the Citizens Bank in State College — at 10 a.m. Saturday, with a more formal grand opening slated for Monday.
According to a news release, Monday’s grand opening will kick off with an 8:45 a.m. ribbon cutting with the Chamber of Business & Industry of Centre County, with “vendor pop-ups” to follow from noon to 2 p.m. An employee who answered the business’ phone Friday also said Grassroots, a producer of marijuana-related products owned by Curaleaf, will be on-hand Monday.
Curaleaf State College is the area’s second medical marijuana dispensary, as Nature’s Medicines (2105 N. Atherton St.) became the first to open in the summer of 2018. Curaleaf State College will be the company’s 15th location in the commonwealth; the closest Curaleaf dispensary to Centre County was previously in Altoona.
“Expanding our presence within Pennsylvania enables us to further support our patients by providing them with quality products and service to make confident and informed decisions about their medical marijuana journeys,” Curaleaf CEO Joe Bayern said in a written statement.
Curaleaf State College’s hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. According to the release, Curaleaf donated $5,000 to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank in honor of its grand opening — and, in the coming weeks, it plans to offer grand-opening discounts to “veterans, seniors, students and first-time patients.”
Overall, Curaleaf has more than 5,200 employees in 126 dispensaries and 26 cultivation sites around the world.
Those looking to purchase medical marijuana in Pennsylvania — whether ointment, pills, vaporizers, flower (traditional), etc. — first need to register through the state’s Medical Marijuana Registry, and then have a physician certify they suffer from one of the qualifying medical conditions (e.g. anxiety, cancer, PTSD). Those approved must then pay $50 for a medical marijuana ID card, before being allowed entrance to a dispensary.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed the medical marijuana bill into law in 2016. By 2018, medical marijuana became available in the commonwealth. Based on data provided by the state in August, more than 630,000 patients and caregivers are currently registered in the commonwealth’s medical marijuana program.
Pennsylvania dispensaries have collectively generated more than $2 billion in sales since 2018.
The number of dispensaries in Centre County is only expected to expand. In fact, a third dispensary owned by Verilife — whose parent company, PharmaCann, produces cannabis products — is set to soon open at 1820 S. Atherton St., the former location of Home D Pizzeria. In December, the company told the CDT it planned to open there no later than March.
