In Virginia, there are already more than 50,000 registered users of the medicinal cannabis program. After registering with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to obtain their medical marijuana card so they could obtain their medication, an estimated 8,000 applicants were still waiting for a response.
They are no longer required to wait now.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin earlier this year signed HB 933 and SB 671 into law, and as of July 1st, patients are no longer need to register with the Board of Pharmacy following receipt of their written certification from a licensed practitioner.
According to JM Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, “these legislative amendments will bring considerable relief to the thousands of Virginians who have been waiting to access the medical cannabis program.” Every week, scores of Virginians contact us complaining about the difficulty of registering and the lengthy 60-day wait for Board of Pharmacy approval, Pedini said.
To purchase medical cannabis from one of the state’s dispensaries, patients will just need their written certification. To receive this certification, patients must still see a licensed practitioner, and registered agents must continue to register with the Virginia Board of Pharmacy.
The commonwealth’s medical cannabis program includes five different health care categories. Four of those five health care areas currently have (or soon will have) medicinal cannabis shops, with satellite facilities in each area. However, there isn’t a dispensary in health service area one, which encompasses Staunton, Augusta County, and Waynesboro, where patients can purchase their medications. Instead, they have to go to other regions of the state.
Why? Due to a legal action that has been ongoing since a pretrial motion was held on December 18, 2020 between MedMen and the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, the business that acquired the facility license that was supposed to open in Staunton. The Virginia Board of Pharmacy was therefore instructed to stop considering applications for a pharmaceutical processor permit in health service area one until further direction from the court was given on January 14, 2021.
Patients who would prefer to get a physical card can still do so by signing up with the Board of Pharmacy.
The Board of Pharmacy will continue to accept applications beyond July 1, according to Diane Powers, director of communications for the Virginia Department of Health Professions, who was speaking to Richmond TV station WRIC.
According to Virginia NORML on its website, a final cannabis-related amendment was proposed just before the final day of voting to make sure that medical cannabis growing is not disrupted should a processor move to a new facility, preventing disruption to product supply for patients.
