West Virginia Cannabis Legalization

19 April 2017 the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act, S.B. 386, was signed by Gov. Jim Justice to allow cannabis to be consumed for certified medical use by a West Virginia resident with a serious medical condition and is limited by law to the following forms: pill; oil; topical forms including gels, creams or ointments; a form medically appropriate for administration by vaporization or nebulization, excluding dry leaf or plant form unless dry leaf or plant forms become acceptable under rules adopted by the Bureau for Public Health; tincture; liquid; or dermal patch.

Patients may qualify for medical cannabis if they have a terminal illness or if they suffer from cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage, epilepsy, neuropathies, Huntington’s disease, Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, intractable seizures, sickle cell anemia, or “severe chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or has proved ineffective as determined as part of continuing care.”

Under the Act, the Bureau started to issue the patient and caregiver identification cards necessary to obtain medical cannabis from July 1, 2019.

The Bureau for Public Health is allowed to issue permits initially for no more than 10 growers (with up to two locations each), up to 10 processors and no more than 30 dispensary permits. The Bureau may not issue more than one individual grower or processor permit to one person. A grower or a processor may not be a dispensary. It will also regulate testing laboratories. Medical cannabis organizations will be required to use seed-to-sale tracking of cannabis and to meet rules regarding delivery, transportation, record-keeping, security, and surveillance.

Counties may ban medical cannabis businesses entirely or may limit their locations within the county.

Cannabis Fees and Taxation

Applicants pay $2,500 per dispensary application and $5,000 per grower or processor application. Registration fees are $10,000 for each dispensary location and $50,000 for grower and processors.

West Virginia Cannabis Market

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) Bureau for Public Health started accepting applications for growers, processors, dispensaries, and laboratories beginning December 19, 2019. The first medical cannabis dispensary in West Virginia opened in Morgantown in November 2021.

As of September 2023, 34,447 patient applications have been received and 27,496 (12,672 in 2022) applications have been approved. Medical cannabis sales totaled over $72.1 million with 12,199 pounds of medical cannabis and 1,467,689 individual items sold.

According to the state’s Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC) 8 licensed cultivators and 7 processors are now operational and 53 (30 in 2022) dispensaries are open.

West Virginia Cannabis Market Infographics