PharmaCann Inc. will permanently close its cannabis cultivation and processing facility near Olyphant, Pa., laying off 60 workers on May 20 after the privately held multistate operator defaulted on its lease.
The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry on March 20, informing the department of its facility closure at 111 Life Science Drive in Scott Township.
Founded in 2014, PharmaCann purchased the 18 acres of land in Lackawanna County – in the Northeast region of the commonwealth – in late 2018, with plans to construct a 36,000-square-foot facility to serve Pennsylvania’s up-and-coming medical cannabis market that had commenced sales earlier that year.
At the time, Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce President Bob Durkin said PharmaCann was among the businesses “at the cutting edge of their respective fields” that aligned with Scott Technology Park’s long-standing focus in the industrial zoning area.
“PharmaCann is doing just that by employing a team of highly skilled professionals both attracted to and drawn from our local talent pool,” he said.
Pennsylvania now has one of the most robust markets in the nation, with nearly 440,000 active patients purchasing $1.8 billion in medical cannabis in 2025, according to the state’s Department of Health. PharmaCann was one of 30 operational grower/processors in the state as of November 2025. The commonwealth employs roughly 25,000 cannabis workers.
While Pennsylvania’s cannabis cultivators enjoy a limited license market, that hasn’t shielded them from price compression: The average wholesale price per gram for dried flower dipped 72% from $10.65 in early 2021 to $2.98 in late 2025, according to the state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board.
PharmaCann’s WARN notice to close its facility in Pennsylvania comes after the company settled a lawsuit with Innovative Industrial Properties (IIP) related to its lease defaults with the real estate investment trust (REIT), according to IIP. As part of the resolved litigation, PharmaCann must turn over its properties in Pennsylvania and New York by May 20, and an additional property in Ohio by May 26, according to IIP.
The layoffs in Pennsylvania are in addition to the company’s 222 Michigan layoffs and 19 Maryland layoffs in January 2025; 19 Massachusetts layoffs in March 2025; 82 Illinois layoffs in January 2026; and 132 Colorado layoffs announced for May 2026, according to WARN notices in those states.
PharmaCann previously leased a combined 329,000 square feet of facility space from IIP in Michigan, Massachusetts and Illinois. The REIT will likely seek new tenants for the Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio properties later this year.
