Fayette County’s first medical marijuana dispensary is opening its doors.
Maitri Medicinals is slated to hold its grand opening in downtown Uniontown on Tuesday morning, giving locals who are certified as suffering from one of 21 significant conditions approved by the state for the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Program a place to get their medical cannabis.
“We expect a busy store,” Maitri Chief Executive Officer Corinne Ogrodnik said during an open house tour of its 27 W. Main St. location, last Monday.
Ogrodnik said Maitri anticipates 80 to 100 patients per day at peak, and roughly half that upon opening.
Founded in 2016 by Ogrodnik and her husband, Chief Operations Officer Joe Vesely, Maitri Medicinals was granted unanimous approval by Uniontown’s zoning hearing board in October to operate a dispensary at the site of the former outdoors retail store Woodlands World, which closed in 2015.
As regulated under state Act 16 of 2016, medical marijuana can be prescribed to patients statewide if they have a terminal illness or if they suffer from 21 significant conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, autism and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Prior to Maitri, there were no dispensaries in Fayette County, the mid-Mon Valley or Greene County, with the nearest being the Healing Center in Washington, Pa., according to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The word “Maitri” has meant “benevolence and compassion” in other cultures, Ogrodnik told those who toured the dispensary last week, adding that the company’s logo, a peacock, was a symbol of health and wellness.
Approximately 200 tour-takers, consisting of Uniontown Redevelopment Authority officials, Uniontown Police Department members, Maitri investors and others, walked through the dispensary during multiple open house walk-throughs.
Tours started in the reception area, a lobby with a sofa and chairs in front of what Ogrodnik called a “document wall,” which includes archival photos of downtown Uniontown and excerpts of Act 16.
To get medical marijuana in Pennsylvania, patients must register for the Medical Marijuana Program at medicalmarijuana.pa.gov, obtain certification from a practitioner approved by the state Department of Health to participate in the program that they suffer from one of the 21 serious medical conditions, complete registration by paying a $50 fee for a medical marijuana identification card and obtain the medical marijuana from a dispensary.
Once visitors have shown their state-issued medical marijuana card in the reception area and filled out a patient intake form, a patient advisor will show them products available in the dispensary showroom and answer any questions.
“It’s great to see it this close,” state Sen. Pat Stefano, R-Bullskin Township, said while observing the showroom during a tour.
Patients will also be able to discuss their condition with onsite medical advisors, get product recommendations and determine a therapeutic response.
“We have a great team that’s ready to work one-on-one with patients,” Ogrodnik said.
Ogrodnik said that downtown Uniontown made sense as a dispensary site given that her husband is from Fayette City and that the couple takes pride in the region, adding that 11 of the dispensary’s 12 employees are from Fayette County.
“It’s just been a really fun, eye-opening experience to be here,” Ogrodnik said. “We want to be an embedded and active member of the community.”
Maitri plans to open its second dispensary in the East Liberty neighborhood of Pittsburgh later this year and was issued a permit in July for a medical marijuana grower/processor facility in O’Hara Township, Allegheny County.
A security guard will be stationed at the dispensary’s front door during business hours, and the dispensary’s security system includes strategically placed exterior and interior cameras and electronic visitor management and intrusion detection, according to Dagostino Electronic Services, the dispensary’s security system contractor.
Maitri Medicinals also purchased 15 W. Main St., a 7,400-square-foot grassy plot of land on the other side of the Ptak’s formal wear store adjacent to the dispensary, and hopes to pave it into a parking lot, with possible use in conjunction with community events in the future.
More than 52,000 patients have registered to participate in the medical marijuana program since its patient and caregiver registry launched in the fall of 2017, and more than 30,000 of those patients have received their identification cards and are able to visit a dispensary to buy medical marijuana, according to the Department of Health.
Stefano said that medical marijuana would lessen local dependence on opioids, which has helped contribute to the area’s addiction crisis.
“If we can do pain management without opioids, that is a good thing,” Stefano said.
Uniontown Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Mark Rafail said the authority was “very happy” to see Maitri revitalize a downtown storefront that had been vacant for several years.
“It’s for real now,” Stefano said of the dispensary opening. “That’s the best part.”
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