Medical marijuana dispensaries come with rules to prevent misuse | Local News

Is owned, at least in part, by a pharmaceutical processor;

Dispenses cannabis oil produced by a pharmaceutical processor to a registered patient, their registered agent, or, if such patient is a minor or an incapacitated adult, such patient’s parent or legal guardian.

In 2015, the Virginia General Assembly approved the use of cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol acid (THC-A) oil for the treatment of intractable epilepsy.

The next year, and in 2017, the General Assembly authorized the establishment of five pharmaceutical processor permits, one in each of the state’s five health service areas for the cultivation, manufacture and dispensing of CBD/THC-A oil.

Each permitted pharmaceutical processor may open five cannabis dispensing facilities within their health service area, Powers said. One service area in the state remains vacant.

State law allows for only five pharmaceutical processors, she said.

The application fee for getting a pharmaceutical processor permit is $10,000, and the permit fee is $60,000. The annual renewal fee is $10,000, according to the Virginia Board of Pharmacy.

As for licenses for practitioners to prescribe medical marijuana, the necessity of obtaining them is determined by individual employers and providers, said Summer Olinger, a nurse practitioner with Sovah Internal Medicine-Danville.