South York Diner was once a place people went to fill their craving for bacon and eggs, but soon people might be pulling into the parking lot to fill something else: a prescription for medical marijuana.
Right off Interstate 83, the small, vacant building that was home to the restaurant could become the location for the county’s next medical marijuana dispensary— if the Pennsylvania Department of Health gives the go-ahead.
Five-Leaf Remedies, a corporation based in York, is pursuing licenses to grow, dispense and sell medical marijuana in Pennsylvania.
Christina Kauffman, a spokesperson for Five-Leaf Remedies, said their ultimate goal is to set up a dispensary in York Township and build a growing and processing facility at their East Poplar Street site in York, which was once a tobacco warehouse.
This project gives Five-Leaf a chance to make an impact, Kauffman said. She spoke of the corporation’s connection to the community, citing a desire to improve the quality of people’s lives as their ultimate motivation.
“Bettering people’s lives really is our crux,” said Kauffman. “When people have a sore throat, or even a heart condition, it’s so easy for them to just go out and get the medication they need instantly. But right now the people who need medical marijuana are not able to access it and that’s frustrating.”
A listing of York County physicians who are approved to prescribe medical marijuana can be found at the bottom of this article.
This will be the second time the York County corporation has applied for a license after being denied one last year and losing thousands of dollars in application fees. The dispensary application requires a non-refundable $5,000 fee, and the growing/processing license a $10,000 fee, according to the department of health website.
Since their last application was denied, Five-Leaf partnered with a larger, more-experienced cannabis grower from Washington state, Grow Op Farms, that also happens to be the top marijuana producer in Washington.
“We don’t really have an answer as to why our application was denied last time,” Kauffman said. “We did notice though that most of the corporations that got approved were larger and had more experience than us, so partnering with Grow Op gives us that expertise.”
Kauffman said that compared to other applicants, they are the most community-concentrated group. Even with their new partnership, they plan to keep all proceeds in York County.
“The chance of just running into one of us at the grocery store is pretty high, which is something you don’t get with those higher-up corporate firms — that’s accountability,” Kauffman said.
Five-Leaf Remedies should hear about the status of their license by the end of June. While they are looking to obtain both a growing and dispensary license, it is possible they could get approved for just one, or none.
“We don’t know what to think about our chances right now,” Kauffman said, “but we think that with an idea as good as ours, and with such good intention, there was no way we couldn’t pursue it.”
Knox Medical, the planned dispensary in Hanover, received approval to begin operations back in March. The dispensary should be open within the next few months, but a date for the grand opening has yet to be announced.
The following doctors may prescribe medical marijuana in York County:
Todd Barron, M.D.
Pediatric Neurology
212 Rosedale Drive, Manchester
Ravi Dukkipati, M.D.
Neurology
228 St. Charles Way, Suite 200, York
Fengjun Jiang, M.D.
Epilepsy and Seizure Disorder
228 St. Charles Way, Suite 200, York
Bruce Klaskin, D.O.
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
1030 Plymouth Rd., York
Douglas McCracken, M.D.
Family Medicine
605 South George St., Suite 200, York
Christine Phillips, M.D.
Internal Medicine and Rheumatology
3130 Grandview Road, Hanover
Michael Peck, D.O.
Family Practice
250 Fame Ave., Suite 206A, Hanover
Susan Peck, D.O.
OBGYN and Opiate Addiction
20 North St., Hanover
Quincy Harberger, M.D.
Family Medicine
1401 Roosevelt Ave., York
Gary Nalavany, M.D.
Anesthesiology
250 Fame Ave., Suite 110, Hanover
Gregory Khan-Arthur, D.O.
Family Medicine and Pain Medicine
2251 Eastern Blvd., Suite 101, York
Michael Watson, M.D.
Radiation Oncology
773 Cherry Tree Court, Hanover
