Debra Borchardt
Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp . (OTCQX: TCNNF) is continuing its expansion efforts and the latest state to plant its flag is West Virginia. Trulieve has acquired Solevo Wellness West Virginia LLC (“Solevo”) and its three West Virginia dispensary permits for $650,000. Solevo was awarded two permits in Morgantown and one in Parkersburg in January 2021 as part of the West Virginia application process.
“This acquisition enables Trulieve to broaden and solidify our position in the newly created West Virginia market. Solevo was granted three dispensaries as part of the application process entered by the company before becoming part of the Trulieve family. Adding Solevo to our production and dispensary permits, as well as our recently announced definitive agreement to acquire Mountaineer Holdings and its cultivation and dispensary permits, will create a fully vertical presence in the state with nine dispensaries,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve. “We look forward to providing the highest level of cannabis products and customer experience through authentic and reciprocal relationships to West Virginia patients.”
West Virginia Has A Long Way To Go
West Virginia is currently a medical-only state and at this time residents can only register for access to medical marijuana. The state still needs to partner with a testing lab before any products will be available for sale. Patients have to have approval from a doctor and so far, only 30 physicians in the state are eligible to approve a person for medical marijuana. It was four years ago that medical marijuana was legalized in the state, but patients still can’t get it. The state has managed to issue licenses for growers, processors, and dispensaries.
Recently legislators were unable to pass a law decriminalizing adult-use cannabis as fears of such a move meant full legalization.
Matt Simon, a senior legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project, told The Center Square, “Patients in West Virginia have been waiting a long time for safe, legal access to medical cannabis. It has been nearly four years since Gov. Justice signed the medical cannabis bill into law, and there’s no reason the rollout should have taken this long. Other states have been able to implement similar programs in a fraction of the time it has taken West Virginia. Still, the fact that dispensaries have finally been licensed and patients are finally able to register for the program is an important step forward. We look forward to the day that patients will finally be able to obtain medical cannabis from dispensaries in West Virginia.”
