Video: Virginia Cannabis Dispensing Facts

by Dan Sullivan

Following the presentation by PharmaCann about medical cannabis in Virginia published here yesterday, the attendees were invited to ask questions. Unfortunately, there was not a microphone available for the audience participants. While the answers are clear in the video’s audio, some of the questions are not easily interpreted, so they are paraphrased below to provide context to the answers provided.

• Do you have a hybrid that removes the increase in appetite? 
• Do the doctors prescribe the ratio or do they leave that up to the dispensary? 
• In Virginia, not every physician can prescribe medical cannabis, is that correct? 
• Comment – In Virginia every doctor that wants to recommend marijuana has to be registered. 
• Comment – I heard that there might be a problem for physicians with Medicare and other federal programs who register … 
• Are the plants grown in soil or is it hydroponic? 
• Do pharmacist have to have additional training? 
• You have the facility in Staunton. What about similar facilities elsewhere? 
• Comment – I can tell you there is five: Manassas, Bristol, Portsmouth, and Richmond. 
• How are people who live close to an hour away supposed to have access? Is there going to be delivery? 
• I am going to ask the drug test question. Is this something that is going to show up on the drug test? 
• Comment – That does bring up the question in regards to that. That person that needs it, they have registered, they talk to the employer, you know they are legally taking something for their benefit. 
• Comment – One of the courts, I believe in Minnesota, ruled that it can disqualify you for the job even if you are registered. 
• Comment – Virginia is a right to work state, so that hinders patient protection.  
• How does this affect when you are driving a vehicle? 
• If I travel from Virginia to another state and I get stopped along the road, what’s the law? 
• How about operating a vehicle? 
• Have the VA (Veterans Administration) doctors been in with any of this? 
• Yes, I have my certificate already and I was wondering of you could give us an idea of when you are opening? 
• Comment – Mike, maybe you could speak to even once we are operational then we have to start growing, because we can’t even put seed in the ground until we get that license.  
• What about third party? 
• State to state? New York can’t come down here? 
• I am a current student at Virginia Tech and I was just wondering if PharmaCann was going to offer some kind of internship program? 
• What’s the difference in the product you’ll be selling and what I can buy with my fried chicken at the Beverly street convenience store? 
• Comment – Also you’d have to understand the quality of chicken you can get there. 
• What are the qualifications you need to get a job with PharmaCann? 
• Why can’t you help Tech and Virginia progress in their development of growers?  
• How many jobs and have you anticipated growth? 
• Can you give us a perspective of what it’s going to cost? 
• Are the insurance companies on board? 
• My nephew has Crohn’s like you and you say persons make cannabinoids and that people suffering from Crohn’s disease need them but there is no evidence of the body not making cannabinoids. So my nephew is a child and there is an effect on the developing brain. So the coalition is about getting young people not to use drugs. I mean you guys don’t want abuse either. So how would you hadle a patient like him who is younger, his brain is still developing, side effects could be more severe or long term. How would you handle that? 
• Who’s the one doctor in Staunton? 
• Comment – There’s a website called BuzzNutrition. On the website there’s a link that will take you to all the doctors in the state of Virginia who are licensed to prescribe a certificate. I can promise you there is more than one physician on this area and there are a ton of pediatricians at UVa who work with children who have epilepsy and things like that.  
• Comment – That number goes up every day. As of yesterday I think there were 330 registered physicians. 
• Is it $50 a certificate? Is that correct? 

At the end of the program there was an offer to pass any questions you make have on to Mike at PharmaCann using the coalition email address: tyreenm@ci.staunton,va.us