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On Friday, November 12, the wheels of West Virginia's potential $40 million medical cannabis program were finally set in motion. The state became the 29th in the U.S. to pass a medical cannabis law on April 19, 2017. The eagerly-anticipated launch of West Virginia's medical cannabis market emerged four years and seven months after state lawmakers approved SB 386, which permitted pharmaceutical-grade cannabis sale and cultivation.  "West Virginia holds the unfortunate record for the slowest state to implement medical cannabis access. Many patients have surely died waiting," wrote the state policies director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) state policies director, Karen O'Keefe, in an email to MJBizDaily. The tedious implementation of West Virginia's medical cannabis program has been attributed to a lack of banking services for the federally illegal industry. According to MPP officials, the predicament was "exacerbated" by a U.S. law enforcement officer who threatened "to prosecute businesses that enter the medical cannabis space." West Virginia's medical cannabis market: Delays and restrictions are easing In spite of delays and limitations, the outlook for West Virginia's medical cannabis industry looks set to drastically improve over the coming months; numerous businesses are anticipated to open in the next few weeks. If the MJBizFactbook's updated predictions are correct, West Virginia's medical cannabis market could turn over sales of $400,000 -$500,000 this year. However, thanks to regular developments, analysts believe that this sales forecast will rise to $6 million next year, before swelling to $40 million annually by 2025. Of the many cannabis retail stores that will be participating in West Virginia's nascent industry, well-known multi-state corporation Trulieve was first to open its doors. The company already launched two dispensaries in the state this November — one in Morgantown and another in Weston. O'Keefe predicts that West Virginia's market will function similarly to…

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Source : West Virginia's long-overdue medical cannabis market kicks off

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