The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is one of eight Pennsylvania centers now approved to conduct clinical research for the state’s medical marijuana program.
Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday announced the winners, five of which are in the Philadelphia area. The remaining two are Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Erie.
As “certified academic clinical research centers,” the Pitt School of Medicine and the other seven centers will study the safety and efficacy of medical marijuana for treating various illnesses. Such research has been limited to date because federal law regards marijuana illegal in all of its forms.
“The research component of Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program sets it apart from the rest of the nation,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a release.
“Today, medical research is so limited by the federal government that only a few doctors can even have access to medical marijuana. Pennsylvania’s premiere medical schools will be able to help shape the future of treatment for patients who are in desperate need not just here, but across the country.”
In an email statement, a Pitt spokesman wrote that the school was pleased.
“It is important to note that Pennsylvania is the first and only state in the country to institute such a program, and we believe that the research that will be conducted by the School of Medicine in collaboration with UPMC will be of great importance in determining the safety, efficacy and effectiveness of medical cannabis products in treating specific diseases.”
Pitt and the other centers will partner with a “clinical registrant” that will be awarded one state permit to grow and process medical marijuana, and one dispensary permit that allows them to sell product at up to six locations.
Some current permit holders — who survived a rigorous first round application process — say that puts them in unfair competition with the university medical school programs and their partners, some of whom may not have scored well enough to secure a first-round permit.
A group of 11 permit holders, including Cresco Yeltrah which operates a cultivating facility in Jefferson County and a dispensary in Butler, filed for a preliminary injunction to stop implementation of the clinical research initiative.
Their objection is that the original wording of the 2016 medical marijuana law, clinical registrants were primarily meant to do research.
The group supports doing research on medical marijuana, said the group’s Harrisburg attorney Judith Cassel, but, “There’s an inherent conflict of interest between people who are conducting research if they’re also selling the product they’re doing research on.”
A ruling has not been handed down on the petition.
In February, the first state-approved dispensaries began providing cannabis products to patients certified to have one of 17 medical conditions, such as seizure disorder or glaucoma.
State officials say that to date more than 16,000 patients have received medical marijuana at a dispensary after being certified by one of the more than 600 physicians participating in the state program.
Last month, Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine expanded the list to 21 medical conditions and approved the sale of cannabis flower to qualifying patients. Pennsylvania is also the first state to allow access to medical marijuana as treatment for opioid addiction when traditional approaches have failed.
Those changes take effect Thursday.
Steve Twedt: stwedt@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1963.
Updated 2:30 p.m. May 14, 2018.
First Published: May 14, 2018, 3:46 p.m.
