HARRISBURG — The state’s medical marijuana growers are scrambling to comply with an order handed down by the Department of Health mandating that they submit descriptions of all additives used in the production of marijuana products meant to be ingested through vaporization.
The directive, issued by email on Nov. 16, includes products that had been previously approved by the department.
Vape products are the second-most popular product type sold in medical marijuana dispensaries. There are more than 380,000 medical marijuana patients actively using the program, according to the Department of Health.
Nothing in the email to growers from Sunny Podolak, assistant director and chief compliance officer for the Medical Marijuana Program, explains what prompted the department to act.
Mark O’Neill, a DOH spokesman, also didn’t explain what prompted the move when asked on Tuesday.
“The Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana Office instituted a statewide review of vaporized medical marijuana products on November 16, 2021, to ensure that permittees are not using additives that are not safe for inhalation,” he said in an email. “Patient safety is of utmost importance to the Medical Marijuana Office and those they serve. Because this is a patient safety issue, all permittees have been directed to resubmit for approval all vaporized products containing added ingredients by November 30,” he said.
In Ms. Podolak’s email, she warned that any grower that sells product that hasn’t gone through the new approval process faces disciplinary actions “including possible permit suspension or revocation.”
An industry trade group warned that the scramble to comply with the order could impact not just the availability of vape products, but other products as well. If patients who normally consume vape products can’t find them, they will turn to other products, creating a supply strain across the board, said Meredith Buettner, executive director of the Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition.
Her group has asked the Department of Health to issue a 45-day extension to give growers more time to comply with the order.
First Published: November 24, 2021, 6:27 p.m.