A medical cannabis dispensary is opening in Salem.
RISE, which operates in multiple states, expects to have medication for registered Virginia patients available within a matter of days.
Many patients in western Virginia have been buying it at Abingdon-based Dharma Pharmaceuticals.
Jack Page founded Dharma, and also serves as RISE’s market leader for Virginia. He says a few more locations will be announced soon. “The legislation that was passed last year allows to have five off-site dispensing locations in addition to the dispensary in Abingdon. So we will be opening a couple more this year," Page predicts, "and eventually we’ll have all five open.”
Dharma’s medications will also be sold in Salem. Dharma merged with RISE’s owner, Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries, earlier this month.
Virginia currently has more than 27,000 registered medical cannabis patients, with other dispensaries located in Richmond, Abingdon, Portsmouth, and Manassas.