Medical cannabis dispensary to open in Salem

SALEM, Va. (WDBJ) – A ribbon-cutting Wednesday afternoon in Salem represented a first for the Commonwealth and a new chapter for Virginia’s medical marijuana industry.

Rise Salem is a medical cannabis dispensary that will open soon on West Main Street.

Associated with Dharma Pharmaceuticals in Abingon, the new location is the first off-site dispensary in the state.

Right now, there is no sign outside, and no inventory within the former bank building.

But the ribbon-cutting drew a crowd of community leaders, and others who are happy to see the dispensary open in the Roanoke Valley.

Jack Page is Darma Pharmaceuticals’ Virginia Market Leader.

“The patient base is constantly expanding in the state of Virginia,” Page told reporters. “We’re right now at about 27,500 patients, adding around a thousand a week. So we just see the demand increasing.”

Roger Sillmon is the Roanoke Valley Leader for Virginia NORML, the national group that advocates for the reform of marijuana laws.

“We’re very glad for Dharma to open up their first satellite site,” Sillmon told WDBJ7. “Virginia NORML has been an advocate for the patients for a long time.”

Dharma Pharmaceuticals already has patients who live in the Roanoke Valley, so now they won’t have to make the drive down I-81.

The new location will have a drive-thru and a delivery hub.

Rise Salem should be open in a matter of days, once the company receives a final permit from the board of pharmacy.

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