Pennsylvania is looking to bolster homegrown cannabis research by finding more medical marijuana companies to partner with medical schools for cannabis research.
The state this week released applications for clinical registrants — entities which grow, process and dispense marijuana for research institutions.
Applicants must either have permits to grow and dispense marijuana in Pennsylvania or apply for those permits separately. They must submit a contract with one of the medical schools certified by the state medical marijuana program along with a description of the research to be conducted.
“The (research) has the potential to help patients diagnosed with serious medical conditions such as cancer, PTSD and individuals who are struggling with opioid use disorder,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a statement.
Applications are available on the Department of Health’s medical marijuana website and are due Oct. 10.
There are eight medical schools certified by the program, three of which already have contracts with clinical registrants: Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia and Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
The five remaining institutions that have yet to find marijuana providers are:
• Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, Philadelphia.
• The Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
• University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh.
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine-Erie (LECOM).
• Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia.
There are almost 125,000 patients in the state’s medical marijuana program, which was signed into law in April 2016. Nearly 4.7 million medical marijuana products have been sold.
