The City of Ardmore issued its first medical marijuana dispensary permit, meaning the drug could be available to patients as early as next month.

Oct. 26 is the first day marijuana growers can begin to harvest cannabis to sell, but it will take a little more time before its ready for customers.

Todd Larkin, co-owner of Pure Wellness in Ardmore, said medical cannabis will be on his store’s shelves the second week of November after two weeks of processing and testing.

He said providing a properly tested product without harmful chemicals is a huge priority.

“If we’re putting bad product out, that’s not good," Larkin said. "If people are smoking things that have pesticides in it, that’s not good for us. So, we want to make sure staying away from that.”

Larkin said he wants to keep revenue and business within the southern Oklahoma area.

That is why he is getting his cannabis from two Ardmore area growers.

At first, the Pure Wellness dispensary will sell five different strains in flower form: gorilla glue, Christmas cookies, Willie Nelson, Buddha's revenge and lemon haze.

Larkin said the business will add other products, like edibles, after a few months.

Since medical marijuana is new to Oklahoma, Larkin said his business’ number one goal is educating patients on how to properly use the drug and what side effects it may cause.

“And so, it's super important to us to make sure they’re comfortable and they’re educated on their strains but also how to use it," Larkin said.

The city said it has also approved permits for one commercial grower and three home growers, with three more dispensaries and one more commercial grower still waiting to be approved.

Community Development director Jessica Scott said the city could see up to 10 dispensaries and three commercial growers but does not know if the patient base will support that many businesses.

“It’s such a new industry and it’s so new to us," Scott said. "I don’t know what we’re going to be able to support."

As of Oct. 21, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority has approved more than 8000 patient licenses and more than 600 dispensary licenses.