In six weeks or so, state health officials will announce up to 36 winners from among the 200-plus applicants seeking a permit to grow and process medical marijuana or dispense it in Pennsylvania.
For the winners, it means landing a franchise of sorts — albeit a highly regulated one — in which they get exclusive rights to open a business selling a product in great demand.
For the losers, it means that months of planning, lining up investors and contracting architects, securing property, getting local ordinance approvals and putting together security and business plans will all go up in non-medical smoke.
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Then, if the experience of other states’ medical marijuana programs holds true, Pennsylvania can count on one more thing: Someone who doesn’t get a permit is going to sue either the state or a competing applicant.
