New Kensington will get its first medical marijuana dispensary Monday, Feb. 25 and become the state’s first such shop to let its customers pre-order products online.
Cresco Yeltrah’s CY+ dispensary plans to open up for business at 10 a.m. Monday at 4 Kensington Square.
The shop will become the company’s third in the region with others located in Pittsburgh’s Strip District and Butler.
Cresco spokesman Jason Erkes said the online pre-order service will allow recurring customers to place an order online to cut down on wait time inside the dispensary.
“We wanted to replicate the pharmacy experience as close as possible … so people are not spending a whole lot of time waiting for their medicine,” he said.
First-time customers will need to consult with an on-site staffer who will help “guide patients in their choice of strain and delivery method to most appropriately treat their symptoms in a safe, comfortable atmosphere,” the company said in a news release.
Cresco also owns and operates a growing facility in Brookville and will open another dispensary in southeast Pennsylvania this spring, Erkes said.
Gov. Tom Wolf legalized medical marijuana in April 2016 and sales began February 2018.
The drug, still illegal in all forms on the federal level, can be administered only to registered patients who have been diagnosed with one of 21 recognized conditions, including cancer, opioid use disorder, glaucoma and post traumatic stress disorder.
Patients must be referred by a certified physician and receive a state-issued identification card to purchase medical marijuana.
According to the latest state health department figures released Feb. 15, there are 25 growing and processing facilities and 45 dispensaries in Pennsylvania.
Combined, processors and dispensaries sold cannabis products 600,000 times in the last year with a total revenue of $132 million in gross sales.
Wolf said earlier this month that the state received $2 million in tax revenue from growers and processors last year.
As of Feb. 15, there are more than 83,000 certified patients with identification cards and nearly 1,000 certifying physicians.
New Kensington’s CY+ dispensary will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. For more information, visit www.cydispensary.com or call 724-276-0069.
