An American telemedicine company has expanded its service to patients in a fledgling East Coast medical cannabis market.
Today, NuggMD announced it is launching its services in West Virginia, where medical cannabis sales have been legal for a short time.
NuggMD has connected more than 1,000,000 patients with medical cannabis physicians in 18 states since 2015.
NuggMD’s services are available in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
West Virginia Joins the Club
West Virginia is now the 19th state in NuggMD’s network, with services costing $139.
NuggMD COO Kam Babazade says medical cannabis has been legal for five years in West Virginia, but the market is still new with less than a year of sales.
Babazade says the market has nowhere to go but up.
Qualifying conditions for West Virginia’s medical cannabis program include cancer, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, seizures, and severe, chronic, or intractable pain.
Potential patients in West Virginia can see if they qualify at NuggMD’s website.
“If a person possesses less than 155 grams of cannabis without a state-issued medical marijuana card, prosecutors are required to dispose of the first offense, but after that, it’s mandatory jail time if convicted,” says NuggMD CMO Alex Milligan in a press release. “That’s barbaric. We still have a long way to go with marijuana reform, and we’re excited to continue helping more patients access a safer alternative to pharmaceuticals.”
Citing Tax Foundation estimates, NuggMD says that West Virginia’s new medical cannabis market will generate more than $38 million in excise taxes.
Currently, twelve companies run the state’s 26 dispensaries.
NuggMD says the dispensaries are fully operational with salable products, but patients should call ahead to check availability.
Additionally, nine growers, five processors, and more than 100 registered physicians operate in West Virginia’s medical cannabis program.
NuggMD says, as of August 4, West Virginia has approved 11,164 out of 12,708 patient applications that it has received.
According to NuggMD, dispensaries have reported $9,018,768 in sales and selling 1,134 pounds of medical cannabis since the start of legal sales.
“It’s so exciting to see cannabis take off in states that strongly opposed medical cannabis just a decade ago,” says NuggMD CEO Collin Mann. “This is life-changing for patients here. Before medical cannabis was legalized, patients still faced mandatory minimum sentences for tiny marijuana possession convictions.”
NuggMD says activists don’t want to wait for statewide decriminalization, noting that two local initiatives may be on the November ballot.
Supporters are still gathering signatures for the initiatives.
Patients can access NuggMD’s platform daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. without an appointment.
NuggMD will not charge patients that do not qualify for West Virginia’s medical cannabis program.