Chicago-based cannabis company Verano opened its first of three Pennsylvania medical marijuana dispensaries in Harrisburg on Wednesday with dispensaries in Altoona and York coming soon.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana industry has brought in more than $1.7 billion since the state’s  program began in early 2018. Since August, sales increased, 40%.

Harvest Health & Recreation, a Phoenix-based medical marijuana company, opened its seventh dispensary in Pennsylvania this week.

PA Options for Wellness, a Harrisburg-based medical marijuana company partnered with Penn State College of Medicine to provide medical marijuana for research purposes, opened the first of its six planned dispensaries this month in Harrisburg.

A bill introduced in the state Senate would remove zero tolerance DUI penalties for Pennsylvania medical cannabis license holders and require proof the driver was impaired while driving.

Harvest Health & Recreation, a Tempe, Arizona–based multi-state cannabis operator, said it closed on the acquisition of Franklin Labs LLC, a subsidiary of CannaPharmacy, for about $25.5 million

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has temporarily suspended a number of provisions in the state’s medical marijuana program to allow patients to have more access to medications.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana industry doubled last year—adding more treatable conditions, doctors who can could prescribe the medication, and distributers, growers and processors to get that medicine to patients.

Pennsylvanians permitted to buy medical marijuana may be more likely to stop taking the medicine because of its cost and the inability to find a consistent supply of the same strain, according to a recent survey by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

In Pennsylvania, four laboratories are often the last line of defense between the medical marijuana manufacturer and the consumer. And those labs’ role in public safety is becoming more apparent in light of the rise in lung-injury cases connected to the use of cannabis-based products in e-cigarette and vaping products. As of October 15, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that cases of lung injury among vape and e-cigarette users had killed 33 people and injured 1,479.

While banned for decades, passage of the 2018 Farm Bill allowed farmers to return an historic crop to their fields – hemp. More importantly, it made it legal for banking institutions to loan money to hemp-related businesses. But few have chosen to do so.

Cannabis entrepreneurs face financial and legal challenges when securing real estate. For cannabis entrepreneurs, finding a place to operate their business presents considerable challenges amidst the uncertainty surrounding the legality of cannabis. It’s an industry rife with risk, but also opportunities.

Organic Remedies Inc., based in the Harrisburg region, is officially opening a new medical marijuana dispensary on Oct. 24 in Springettsbury Township.

Harvest of Northwest PA in New Castle and Harvest of North Central PA in Shamokin, have voluntarily given up their medical marijuana dispensary permits in order to allow the dispensaries’ parent company, Tempe, Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation, to move forward with the opening of four other Harvest dispensaries around Pennsylvania, one of which is in Harrisburg.

While the Pennsylvania Legislature voted to legalize medical marijuana in August 2016, lawmakers did very little to provide guidance for businesses and schools that now struggle with how to deal with employees and students who have been prescribed medical marijuana.