Open a Dispensary in West Virginia

The state of West Virginia legalized medical cannabis on April 19th, 2017, when Gov. Jim Justice signed Senate Bill 386, which provided a legal way for qualifying patients in the state to access and utilize medical cannabis as a form of treatment for their ailment. Access to medical cannabis is through state-licensed businesses that are allowed to grow, manufacture and sell medical cannabis.

After a special legislative session, Senate Bill 1037 was signed into law on May 29, 2019. The bill makes the following changes to West Virginia’s medical cannabis program:

• Increases the number of available dispensary permits from 30 to 100. Additionally, an applicant can have a permit for up to 10 dispensaries.
• Allows vertical integration of medical cannabis organizations (applicants may be a grower, processor, and dispensary).
• Moves the tax on medical cannabis from growers and processors to dispensaries. Dispensaries are subject to a privilege tax of 10% on gross receipts from the sale of medical cannabis to a patient or caregiver.
• Dispensaries are explicitly exempt from any kind of sales or use tax, including any kind of special district excise tax, or any county or municipal sales tax.
• Removes the requirement that physicians have to care for a patient for at least 6 months or otherwise determine that opiate therapy would be ineffective prior to issuing a certification for medical cannabis.
• Removes the requirement that a pharmacist/physician be present at dispensaries when dispensing medical cannabis.
• Disbands medical cannabis “regions” throughout the state. Permits will be awarded to medical cannabis organizations based on a scoring rubric as outlined in the Act and crafted by the Office of Medical Cannabis.
• Imposes in-state residency requirements for permit holders
• Creates a pre-registration process for patients who wish to participate in the medical program

West Virginia has three types of licenses, a Grower license, Processor license, and a Dispensary license.

Growers: The state awarded 10 grower permits on October 2, 2020. The application fee was $5,000 and a $50,000 registration fee was required during the submission of the application. The Bureau did not issue more than one individual grower or processor permit to one person.

Processors: The state awarded 10 processor permits on November 13, 2020. The application fee was $5,000 a $50,000 registration fee was required during the submission of the application. The Bureau did not issue more than one individual grower or processor permit to one person.

Dispensaries: The state awarded 100 dispensary permits in January 2021, some businesses with multiple locations throughout the state. Applicants paid $2,500 per dispensary application and a registration fee of $10,000 for each dispensary location. The Bureau did not issue more than ten individual dispensary permits to one person.

We have years of industry experience and have opened over a dozen facilities across the United States. Call (602)-290-9424 or email info@thecannabisbusinessadvisors.com for more information on how to help you open a dispensary in West Virginia.