Notice to dry leaf medical marijuana users: Keep your papers handy. But not rolling papers.



Pennsylvania on Wednesday began sales of dry leaf medical marijuana. It did so amid strong demand from patients, and also reminders that the state's medical marijuana law forbids smoking it. It further advised people who purchase dry leaf to keep it in the original container, and to carry their state-issued medical marijuana card showing they are allowed to buy and use it.



In most cases, users of dry leaf will vaporize it with a device that heats it from about 285 degrees to about 340 degrees, allowing the active ingredients to be inhaled. This is done with devices including battery-powered, pen-like devices, or larger desktop units which are plugged into an electrical outlet.



The availability of dry leaf was eagerly-awaited by medical marijuana patients who previously had access only to oils, lotions and other concentrated forms. Vaporized dry leaf is considered to be faster-acting than some of those forms. Perhaps most significantly, it's considered to be the most cost-effective form, since it doesn't involve the processing required by some of the others, and therefore is expected to be cheapest.

"The demand is large," said Eric Hauser, a co-owner of Organic Remedies Dispensary in Cumberland County, where about a dozen people were lined up before doors opened around 9 a.m. on Wednesday.



Lauren Cleveland of Harrisburg was among the first to purchase dry leaf medical marijuana. Cleveland, who is also an employee of Organic Remedies, has a medical condition that causes chronic pain. The 26-year-old said she has tried various forms of medical marijuana since the other forms went on sale in February.



"Hopefully this will be better," she said. The price of dry leaf varies according to quantity and the particular strain. Cleveland said it has price tags ranging from $13 to about $65.



Terrapin Pennsylvania, a grower-processor, said this week that dry leaf will sell for as little as $10 a gram, although prices can vary by dispensary. A gram is roughly one dose, with the exact amount a person uses varying based on factors including the medical condition they are treating and their vaporization device.



Calling it a rough estimate, Hauser said someone with a condition treated with dry leaf will spend about $30 to $50 per week, which he said is about half the cost of some of the other forms.



Medical experts say vaporized dry leaf has other advantages, including the fact it doesn't contain the tar and chemicals, cancer causing or otherwise hazardous, that occur when marijuana is burned.



Still, Pennsylvania's original medical marijuana law didn't allow dry leaf, mostly out of concern that it would end up being diverted to illegal recreational use.



But an advisory committee created to consider changes to the law recently recommended allowing dry leaf, and the Gov. Tom Wolf administration agreed, enabling the sales that began Wednesday at about a dozen dispensaries around the state. More dispensaries will begin selling it on Aug. 8.



Meanwhile, Hauser on Wednesday was confident the dry leaf supply will hold up, although he said it's possible some varieties will run low. About six growers-processors are presently supplying medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, which six more expected to add to the supply shortly. Pennsylvania this week issued permits to 13 more grower-processors, although it will take months to raise plants and have product ready to ship.