Pennsylvania officials are making progress on rules to govern the state's new medical marijuana program, including how dispensaries will operate and the fees paid by growers and processors.
The Department of Health on Tuesday posted draft regulations for dispensaries .
No facilities in Pennsylvania have been approved to sell medical marijuana, but there are 103 families in the state who can already legally own the drug.
“This means that 103 parents, legal guardians, care givers, or spouses of minors… now have a safe harbor letter that allows them to posses medical marijuana in an approved form to administer to their minor,” said Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary Karen Murphy.
This week, the state published temporary regulations for dispensaries and public input will be taken on the proposed rules at the department of health’s website. The rules prohibit facilities within 1,000 feet of schools or day care centers and require visitors to be notified they're under constant video surveillance. Employees would be required to be at least 18 years old.
Regulations for growing and processing marijuana will be published Saturday.
“The regulations outline the financial, legal and operational requirements,” Murphy said. “The temporary regulations also address an electronic tracking system, maintenance of equipment, sanitation and safety, disposal, tax reporting, pesticides, recall of medical marijuana and insurance requirements.”
A draft version of the production rules drew nearly 1,00 comments. The entire process of implementing the new law is expected to take 18-24 months.
The state is giving people until Nov. 4 to provide their feedback.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
