Medical marijuana firm coming to Farrell

Farrell will soon be home to a medical marijuana grower/processor. The Wolf Administration on Tuesday announced FarmaceuticalRx LLC has been approved as one of two medical marijuana grower-processors in the Northwest Region, and one of 13 approved statewide.

FarmaceuticalRx will be located at 660 and 680 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Farrell, according to the announcement. The company is headquartered in Pittsburgh and Columbus, Ohio.

The state Department of Health on Tuesday awarded the final 13 grower permits for medical marijuana production authorized by the 2016 state law that made the drug legal for people dealing with serious medical problems.

In April, Farrell City Council members

formally gave their support to explore allowing a facility to grow/process medical marijuana within the city’s boundaries, citing the potential for up to 30 new jobs.

In determining which sites would be approved for a facility, state officials considered several factors, such as growing techniques, disposal of waste materials, and community and economic impact. The state also considers security and measures taken to prevent the diversion of legal medical marijuana for illegal recreational use, either by theft or active sales.

Greenville and Hempfield Township had also given support to medical marijuana companies interested in locating in their boundaries.

The state medical marijuana law allowed for up to 25 grower permits to be awarded. Twelve permits were approved in 2017.

Department of Health records show that the permits awarded Tuesday were selected from 91 applicants. Permits awarded also included sites in Erie, Pottsville, Chester, Hazle Township, Olyphant, Saxton, Lebanon, Pittsburgh, Lemont Furnance, Johnstown, Shamokin Dam and Coal Township.

“This medication is vital to Pennsylvanians suffering from one of the 21 serious medical conditions,” said state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine. “We need to ensure they have access to it close to their homes.”

More than 52,000 patients have registered to participate in the medical marijuana program, and more than 30,000 of those patients have received their identification cards and are able to visit a dispensary to purchase medical marijuana.

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