STAUNTON – Staunton will be home to one of five medical cannabis companies licensed to operate marijuana growing facilities in the state, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy has decided.

Illinois-based medical cannabis company PharmaCann will open a facility at Green Hills Industrial Park off Technology Drive and Commerce Avenue.

Mayor Carolyn Dull wrote a letter of support early on in the process.

"To me, there's been enough research done to show the benefits," Dull said. "It's a win-win, and it means more jobs and opportunities for people in Staunton, as well as helping people with medical issues."

The dispensary will sell CBD and THC-A oils to patients who are registered with medical doctors authorized to recommend it. Called pharmaceutical processors, the state requires that PharmaCann grows, processes and dispenses all in the same location. The oils are required by law to contain a minimum of 5mg/mL of either CBD or THCA, and may contain a maximum of 5% THC.

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"We feel great about the opportunity to bring some 30 or so highly-skilled, well-paying jobs to the Staunton area, not to mention the construction-related activity that our development will bring in the short term," said Jeremy Unruh, director of public and regulatory affairs at PharmaCann. "Our job in the immediate term is to reach out to the town and engage the stakeholders of Staunton in more detail now that we've been awarded the license. We look forward to spending time with the local elected officials, law enforcement and citizens to educate them on what we propose to build in the Staunton community."

Out of 51 applicants, the five companies chosen include three established out-of-state businesses and two new Virginia-based entrepreneurs. The companies will need criminal background checks before receiving their licenses at the end of the year.

"I think it's good news for Virginia," said Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML. "We haven't seen from the out-of-state companies any glaring failures in compliance from the states they are operating in. Columbia Care and PharmaCann are some of the best in the business."

Each company will serve the five health service areas (HSAs) designated in the state. HSA1 is the service area for the Shenandoah Valley.

Pharmaceutical processor is the language Virginia uses to describe vertically-integrated medical cannabis facilities, meaning cultivation through dispensation happens under one license at one location. Upon successful completion of the background check and receipt of the license, facilities will have one year to become operational and begin dispensing medical cannabis oils to registered Virginia patients.

"PharmaCann is eager to bring medical cannabis to the patients of Virginia, like we do successfully in other states," says Unruh. "We focus on highly-regulated, consumer protection-driven processes in order to ensure that we are promoting public health as the Virginia Board of Pharmacy expects."

In a release issued by Virginia NORML, the five companies granted conditional licenses are:

HSA I – PharmaCann Virginia

PharmaCann is the largest vertically-integrated and unified medical cannabis company operating in highly regulated states, with six licenses in Illinois and five in New York.

HSA II – Dalitso

Dalitso is a Virginia-based company with strong ties to the community.

HSA III – Dharma Pharmaceuticals

Dharma Pharmaceuticals is a Virginia-based company that plans to locate in the old Bristol Mall, currently owned by Par Ventures, a stakeholder in the company.

HSA IV – Green Leaf Medical of Virginia

Green Leaf Medical, LLC has been awarded a stage 2 license to cultivate medical cannabis in Maryland.

HSA V – Columbia Care

Columbia Care operates dispensaries in Arizona, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Washington, D.C., California, Delaware, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida.

Patients may obtain medicine from any facility in Virginia. To learn how patients, caregivers and physicians can register for Virginia’s program and for answers to more frequently asked questions, please visit Virginia Medical Cannabis FAQs.

"These license awards are just a start," said Unruh. "Now the burden is on PharmaCann and the other successful applicants to deliver on our promise to the patients of Virginia."

Monique Calello can be reached at mcalello@newsleader.com.