Pot dispensaries banned from attending Pennsylvania’s largest cannabis festival

Emma Spears - thegrowthop.com Posted 5 years ago
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On 4/20 this year (or April 20th, to the uninitiated), over 10,000 cannabis enthusiasts and medical users will descend on Scranton, PA’s Nay Aug Park for the Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival. The free event debuted in 2015 after being organized by activists in support of legal access to medical cannabis.

 

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The festival features multiple stages, dozens of bands, food trucks and a plethora of vendors of cannabis products such as cosmetics, CBD oil and smoking accessories like bongs, pipes and ashtrays.

But this year, there will be a significant omission in attendees: Pennsylvania’s dispensaries, who provide the drug to over 100,000 patients as part of the state’s medical cannabis program, and licenced cannabis growers.

In an unexpected move last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health informed event organizers that licenced producers and dispensaries would be prohibited from participating in the festival. The Department of Health is responsible for running the state’s medical cannabis program.

The dispensaries had committed thousands of dollars in sponsorship of the festival–some up to nearly $10,000 to distribute educational materials and set up booths on the festival grounds.

“There is never any weed sales at the festival. We’ve never had a violation of the law,” organizer Jeff Zick told the Inquirer. “Not one arrest and not one parking ticket. We’re totally law abiding. There’s no reason for them to take a stance against us.”

Dispensaries must have all their promotional and marketing material approved by PA’s Office of Medical Marijuana. The Department of Health claimed that what Cannabis Festival organizers submitted to the Office did meet state criteria and was not a “medically-focused event.”

Materials for the event advertised a “Cannabis Cup,” or judge-evaluated cannabis competition, which offered revellers a USD$450 package that included a cannabis sampling event. Organizers say the Cup is a separate event happening the day before the festival and organized by a separate company, although the Cannabis Festival does “manage it.”

The PA Office of Medical Marijuana maintains a neutral stance on adult-use recreational cannabis consumption and legalization.

 

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