Maryland's first grower has completed its first harvest.

ForwardGro has completed the state’s first harvest, a major accomplishment for the medical marijuana program.

ForwardGro of Anne Arundel County harvested its first grow this past month and have sent out their product to get tested by one of the approved, independent testing labs in Maryland. This is a great milestone for Maryland’s medical marijuana program which has had to overcome many hurdles to get to this point. Once the marijuana is tested for safety and potency it will then be certified to be sold at the fully licensed dispensaries throughout Maryland.

Currently there are three fully licensed dispensaries that were granted their final licensure by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission. Thus far two of the three dispensaries reside in Frederick County; these are the Wellness Institute of Maryland, which is taking pre-orders and KRN Holdings, which was just recently approved. The third dispensary to become fully permitted as of this past Tuesday is Potomac Holistics which is located in Montgomery County. William Askinazi, the owner of the Potomac Holistics’ dispensary has stated that he is hoping to have medicine on the shelves within two to four weeks.

In addition to the two dispensaries approved on Tuesday, the Cannabis Commission also approved an additional grower, four processors, and two independent testing labs. Kind Pharmaceuticals of Washington County was the 13th grower to be approved and subsequently also received its processing license as well. Pharmaculture Corporation located in Allegany County, Rosebud Organic located in Montgomery County, and AFS Maryland located in Wicomico County were the three additional processors awarded final licenses on Tuesday. The two additional testing labs that were granted provisional permission to begin independent testing were Steep Hill Maryland in Howard County and Atlantic Testing Labs in Anne Arundel.

While there were over 100 dispensaries that were given the initial approval, many have not completed their final inspections in order to begin dispensing. The deadline for final approvals by the Cannabis Commission is set for December 8th, but they may grant extensions do to those companies that are experiencing zoning issues. With medicine almost available all companies involved within the industry are working diligently to achieve their final licensure in order to get product on the shelves for patients who desperately need this treatment.

Currently there are over 12,400 patients enrolled in Maryland’s medical marijuana program and only 550 medical providers who are registered to certify patients. If you have not received your certification, feel free to call Greenway Consults at 410-762-8745 to assist you through the process of getting enrolled and receiving your medical marijuana card.