A medical marijuana dispensary is on track to open in Lancaster County in mid-October, with construction nearly complete on a new Zen Leaf location in Ephrata Township. The company says the facility, planned for East Main Street, is expected to open in mid-October.
Zen Leaf currently operates 18 dispensaries across Pennsylvania, and the Ephrata location would mark its 19th, according to PennLive. The company describes the new store as sitting right on East Main Street in the middle of downtown Ephrata, positioned to serve patients throughout northern Lancaster County, according to Zen Leaf. Zen Leaf's own location page lists the address as 848 E Main St., though a separate section of the same page identifies the site as 48 E Main St. — a discrepancy that has not been resolved.
Once open, the dispensary's menu is expected to include flower, vapes, concentrates, tinctures, topicals, troches and capsules, per the company's website. Patients will need to bring an active Pennsylvania medical marijuana ID card along with a government-issued photo ID, and the physical card is required — photos on a phone or photocopies will not be accepted, the company notes.
Who Owns Zen Leaf
Zen Leaf is owned by Chicago-based Verano Holdings Corp., the same report notes. Verano operates 163 dispensaries across 13 states and runs 14 cultivation and processing facilities nationwide, including one in Pennsylvania.
Beyond the Ephrata project, Zen Leaf is also relocating a Harrisburg-area facility, moving its operation from 17th Street in Harrisburg to 4206 Union Deposit Road in Lower Paxton Township, according to the same report.
How Pennsylvania's Medical Marijuana Program Works
Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana in 2016, and the program treats a defined list of qualifying medical conditions. Patients must have their condition certified by a state-approved physician before they can obtain a card to purchase medical marijuana at a dispensary, per PennLive's reporting. The state has a medical marijuana program.
Once a patient has a Pennsylvania medical marijuana ID card, they may purchase products at any dispensary statewide, though some locations may require an appointment for a first visit, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
A Growing Statewide Market
The Ephrata opening comes as Pennsylvania's medical marijuana program continues to expand. The state reported $10.4 billion in program-to-date sales as of September 1, up from $9.6 billion just three months earlier, according to The Marijuana Herald. Active patient certifications climbed from 438,727 to 439,124 over the same period, and the number of operational dispensaries statewide rose from 196 to 200. The count of operational grower-processors held steady at 33, and average retail dry-leaf prices stood at $7.32 per gram as of August, the outlet reported.
Lancaster County already has other medical marijuana options. Terra Pharm opened its third Pennsylvania location — and the eighth dispensary in Lancaster County — inside a former Friendly's restaurant on Oregon Pike in Manheim Township, according to LancasterOnline. Some Terra Pharm owners also hold stakes in Organic Remedies, which runs six dispensaries across Pennsylvania, including one in York, the outlet noted.
