Medical Cannabis industry continues to grow in West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W.Va (WDTV) -The West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis updated the legislature’s joint committee on health on April 18.

Since the industry’s beginning in West Virginia 21,000 residents have been approved for medical cannabis cards.

There are 48 dispensaries open across the state.

One of the dispensaries in our area is Cannabist in Morgantown.

Assistant General Manager Luke Pudder said cannabis products could be an alternative option to other medicines.

“People who are addicted to opiates, hard drugs, or they’re just looking for pain relief with either chemo or cancer treatment. So, I think it’s important to have alternative methods of relief,” he said.

Pudder explained that he’d seen firsthand how cannabis helped some of his customers.

“You know, grandmas and grandpas who come in here and say I haven’t slept in weeks, months, years because of my pain. We hook them up with some products, and they come back the next time and are like, hey, I got to sleep. I slept a whole night, and that makes you feel great,” he said.

According to the Office of medical cannabis there are 131 local physicians that are registered to determine if a patient has any of the conditions that make them eligible for a cannabis card.

Some of these include cancer, MS, ALS, Parkinson’s Disease and severe chronic pain.

“Our job in this industry right now is to break that bad stigma and show everybody that this isn’t a scary drug. That it’s something that can definitely help people,” Pudder said.

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