Since medical marijuana has been legalized in Pennsylvania, several businesses have received permits for dispensaries.

But that doesn't mean the drug will be dispensed any time soon.

The state is still hammering out regulations governing which doctors will dispense marijuana and which patients are eligible to receive it. These hurdles will keep the drug from being handed out legally until 2018.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health said no doctors are certified yet to dispense cannabis. The department is working to develop regulations for physicians and is just now beginning the process of registering them, said Director of Communications April Hutcheson.

In order to participate in the Medical Marijuana Program, a physician must apply to the state health department, demonstrate by training or expertise that he or she is qualified to treat serious medical conditions, successfully complete the required four-hour course and hold a valid state medical license.

Once doctors are registered, the department will establish and maintain a publicly-accessible electronic database of physicians, Hutcheson said.

The regulations for patients and caregivers are also being developed and patients are not expected to be able to start applying for medical marijuana identification cards until fall 2017, Hutcheson said.

According to the state law, patients must register with the department, obtain a physician's certification that they suffer from one of 17 serious medical conditions, apply for a medical marijuana ID card and submit the $50 application fee.

The department is developing the process to obtain a medical marijuana ID card and will let the public know when the application is available.

A health department study over the next six months will determine the location and number of patients suffering from serious medical conditions and their ability to access public transportation to get to a dispensary, according to the state website.

Caregivers designated by the patients can obtain medical marijuana, but they also must be approved by the department.

Hutcheson said that those with questions should visit the department's website.

The state unveiled two marijuana dispensaries in June for the Lehigh Valley.

GuadCo LLC, will operate under the dispensary name Keystone Canna Remedies, and intends to open its primary dispensary at 2467 Baglyos Circle, off Emrick Boulevard within Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VI in Bethlehem Township.

Mission Pennsylvania II LLC, will operate a dispensary out of 2733 W. Emmaus Ave., Allentown.

AM I ELIGIBLE?

The conditions that warrant medical marijuana prescriptions include:

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Autism, Cancer, Crohn's Disease, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, HIV/ AIDS, Huntington's Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Intractable Seizures, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuropathies, Parkinson's Disease, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and Sickle Cell Anemia.

Also included is severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective.

Alyssa Mursch may be reached at amursch@lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.