Neighbor Spotlight: Robinson man is a patient turned provider in medical cannabis field

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, visit southhillsrecord.com, select the “Post Story” button in the upper right corner, click the “New Article” button and complete the form to publish your nomination. Questions? Email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.

Bob Scherer thought his career was set in stone when he left college to work in his family’s home medical supply business.

But when a series of unrelated events converged in 2018, the Robinson Township man found a new calling — helping people suffering from a variety of maladies find relief from the products available at the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries as the founder of Releaf Specialists.

In the less than three years since its launch, Releaf Specialists, which helps people obtain a medical marijuana card, has grown to six locations.

Scherer said a physician suggested he try cannabis to help manage the pain caused by herniated discs in his spine.

“I was redoing the kitchen in our first home and felt a lot of pain when I went to pull up the floor,” said Scherer, 36, who grew up in Peters Township. “I started seeking out non-traditional forms of pain management that didn’t rely on narcotics to deal with the problem.”

Scherer said he found some relief from chiropractic treatments and underwent spinal injections to address the problems. But he realized that even with the treatments, he likely would have to deal with pain for the rest of his life.

“I was on the table getting one of the injections and the doctor told me that he had just been certified to treat patients with cannabis. He told me I was a candidate and suggested that I look into it.”

Scherer said the level of pain management he was able to achieve without the use of narcotics turned him into a believer in the benefits of using the plant instead of chemicals that have negative side effects and can lead to physical dependence.

He said his experiences in the years since starting the company have confirmed his belief.

“We’ve had patients ranging in age from 3 years old to 90 who have been able to find relief by using cannabis as part of their treatment,” Scherer said. “Now that legalization has begun to remove the stigma, we’re seeing more and more people who would not have considered using it in the past considering it as an option.”

Scherer said the expansion of his business has been the result of greater demand.

Pennsylvania recently marked the fifth anniversary of the passage of the Medical Marijuana Act, which established the medical marijuana program.

Since its inception, nearly 553,000 patients and caregivers have registered for the program to obtain medical marijuana for one of 23 serious medical conditions.

There are more than 327,000 active patients in the state.

While Scherer was convinced of the medical benefits of marijuana, it wasn’t until his father decided to retire and sell the family business that he began exploring the idea of becoming part of the industry.

“My wife and I thought we were pretty much set up for the rest of our lives working in the family business,” he said. “And when it was bought out, I was hired by the new company as an accounts manager. I tried it for a while, but working in the corporate environment wasn’t really for me.”

Scherer founded a social media page to do marijuana reviews and offer advice. The page attracted a a local physician who approached him about developing a company to help people obtain medical marijuana cards.

“I found out that he wanted to leave the company he was working for so I wrote up a business plan and we started putting things together,” he said.

Because of the stigma associated with marijuana still remains, Scherer thought it was important to approach members of his family to be sure that it was something they could accept.

“My wife is a registered nurse and when I told her this was what I wanted to do, she said she was on board,” Scherer said. “But I was still a little concerned about how my father-in-law, who is fairly conservative, would take it.

“But his reaction was that as long it’s legal, he was behind me. I think that was a point where I felt that the decision I made to pursue this was the right one for me.”

Realeaf Specialists has offices in the city’s Mt. Washington neighborhood as well as Wexford, Robinson, Monroeville, Greensburg, Washington and Liverpool, Ohio. The company recently began taking on patients in West Virginia, which recently approved a medical marijuana program.

Scherer said he is currently looking for properties in the Morgantown area to open the company’s seventh location.