Robert Consulmagno walked into TerraVida Holistic Center in Sellersville around 9:30 a.m. Saturday and left half an hour later feeling hopeful for the first time in a while. "Help is on the way," Consulmagno said, lifting his purchase – a vape pen and cartridge of 500 mg of "Keystone Kush" – to applause from dispensary staff. "I've been waiting a long time for this." Consulmagno, a disabled Marine veteran who suffers from bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, was the first person to buy medical marijuana from TerraVida, one of two dispensaries to open in the Philadelphia area Saturday. The other, Keystone Shops, is in Devon. Pennsylvania's first dispensary opened Thursday in Butler, followed by others in Pittsburgh, Bethlehem, and Enola on Friday. [continues 917 words]
Cleanup of the Gurney Street railroad gulch in Fairhill, a campground for heroin users and a dumping site for needles and garbage, didn't start Monday as was initially planned. The city came to an agreement with Conrail last month to fence and clean up the property. A contract calls for work to start by July 31, but Conrail planned to start work Monday. Jocelyn Hill, a spokeswoman for Conrail, said that fabricating the fencing that will secure the area took longer than anticipated and that the company had hired a second contractor to speed things up. She said the work still will begin before July 31. [continues 167 words]
[photo] Chris Goldstein, right, shakes hands with police top brass after meeting at La Colombe to discuss his planned "smoke-in" protest on Friday in Rittenhouse Square. (Julia Terruso / Staff) Members of the Philadelphia Police Department's top brass met with marijuana activists Thursday to hash out how pot citations will be issued at a protest planned for Friday. "So we'll have everyone light up and then line up," said Nikki Allen Poe, talking with members of the Police Department at a corner table at La Colombe coffee shop at Dilworth Park, "and then you'll do the arr-." [continues 432 words]
He Said He Would Back Edible Marijuana for Young Patients, but He Insisted on Two Changes. Gov. Christie told the Legislature on Friday that he would ease restrictions on minors using medical marijuana, but only if certain stipulations remained in place. The governor returned a medical-marijuana bill (S-2842) with recommended changes, saying he supported legalizing edible forms of marijuana and additional strains better suited to minors, but rejected a provision that would decrease the number of physician referrals required for a minor's entry into the program. [continues 677 words]
