Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough has issued a preliminary injunction to halt the Health Department’s regulations pertaining to handing out additional licenses to growers and dispensaries that partner for research with medical schools.
The move sides with growers and dispensaries in the state. According to Judge McCullough, the regulations possibly go beyond provisions of the law and circumvent its detailed method of licensing growers as well as dispensaries.
She wrote, “The regulations appear to be inconsistent with the legislative intent of Chapter 20, which was to permit distribution of medical marijuana for purposes of and in conjunction with research studies conducted jointly”with the medical schools.
She also said the regulations seem “to require only a minimal commitment to research” in order to be licensed.
“Research is a vital component of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program to improve treatment options for patients suffering from serious medical conditions, including opioid-use disorder,” said Health Department spokeswoman April Hutcheson. “The research program was rolled out in consultation with the sponsors of the original legislation and our approach was meant to ensure lower costs, more accessibility and ground-breaking treatments.”
