PA Options for Wellness was founded by Thomas Trite in 2014 and opened its first medical marijuana dispensary under the name Vytal Options in the same building as its headquarters at 4711 Queen Avenue in Lower Paxton Township last month and plans to open its next location at 39 E. Chestnut Street in Lancaster next month. The company plans to open another four medical marijuana dispensaries across the state.
The company announced last year that it is collaborating with Penn State. The university – whose College of Medicine and affiliated Milton S. Hershey Medical Center are an state-approved academic clinical research center – and PA Options for Wellness – a state-approved clinical registrant – have signed a 10-year research agreement. State-approved clinical registrants are licensed to grow, process and dispense marijuana for research and medical treatment purposes.
PA Options for Wellness will provide funding to Penn State over 10 years, a significant portion of which will go to the College of Medicine to study health outcomes-based research and pre-clinical studies on the potential benefits of cannabinoids and medical marijuana. The College of Medicine will assist PA Options for Wellness determine which types of marijuana extracts are optimal for various conditions. The research work will focus on pain management and anti-cancer activity initially.
“Operationalizing the clinical registrants partnered with three of our academic clinical research centers is essential to providing physicians with more evidence-based research to make clinical decisions for their patients,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a press release earlier this month. “This is the cornerstone of our program and the key to our clinically-based, patient-focused program for those suffering with cancer, PTSD and other serious medical conditions.”