Dozens of patients started lining up outside of the Keystone Shops in Devon hours before the grand opening of the marijuana dispensaries.
Patients dealing with pain and seeking medical help in the form of marijuana were especially eager as they traveled from various places, arriving early to line up. Some are even overwhelmed and close to shedding tears. Most of those lining up are especially there to look for an alternative to using prescribed narcotics.
Keystone Shops is one of multiple medical marijuana dispensaries opening for the first time in Pennsylvania.
Capsules, indigestible oils, and vape pens are also for sale at the dispensary, with the costs pegged at anywhere from $50 to $120. Keystone Shop’s general manager says they are planning to bring even more types of products “to help patients heal.”
One patient, Jeanne DaSilva, interviewed by the local media said she is “living in pain” with multiple sclerosis, and that she’s looking forward to lessening her pain with medical marijuana by 50 percent.
Another patient, Richard Powell, complained of the costs of his consultations fees, on average $200 to $250 and additional $50 to the Department of Health for his card, the medical marijuana dispensary was “a long time coming.” As a former fire fighter, he said he has been living in pain for 18 plus years for his injured back and neck sustained from his job.
Those opposed to legalizing medical marijuana argue that there is a lack of scientific evidence to prove that it is beneficial and safe.
For his part, Dr. M.Louis Van de Beek with the Chief Medical Office for Keystone Shops says opioid prescription is an even bigger risk. He said: “We know that you can not overdose on marijuana. We know that marijuana can not kill you. There are no marijuana receptors in the brain stems the way there are opioid receptors.
Patients who went to purchase medical marijuana were under strict instruction from their doctors not to open them until they reach their homes. They left the dispensary with sealed bags in their hands.
Source:
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/02/17/medical-marijuana-dispensaries-open/
Glad to hear access to marijuana as an alternative to expensive and potential dangerous drugs is becoming a more and more widespread reality.
Decriminalize all the various drugs currently being abused and watch the cartel and its drug empire apart. People will likely briefly experiment and then get on with their lives. Current addicts will widely OD, cleaning up the worst cases.