Since the announcement that medical marijuana will be legal in the state of Pennsylvania, many residents of the state have eagerly awaited their opportunity to apply for use of the controversial drug.

Dr. Norihito Onishi, of the Blackwater Osteopathic Clinic in Mount Morris, was listed as one of the few approved doctors in the Pittsburgh area able to prescribe medical marijuana by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. He is also the only licensed practitioner in Greene County.

Ever since his approval, the phone calls have not stopped, he said. But, hardly a fraction of people that call is even eligible for medical marijuana.

“We’ve been very busy with phone calls; we’ve been getting about 15-20 calls a day,” said Onishi. “Now out of those calls each day, only about one or two of them actually qualify, due to the fact that Pennsylvania law is really strict.”

The bill does not allow medical marijuana as an immediate alternative to other pain relievers – but only as a backup after other measures have failed.

“In other states like Colorado, California and even Ohio, it’s chronic pain that qualifies them for medical marijuana,” said Onishi. “Now Pennsylvania has a little kick at that one, to qualify, it has to be chronic pain of neuropathic origin that fails conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy.”

A large portion of the calls Onishi’s office have received are related strictly to pain. Under the act, that does not qualify a person for medical marijuana until they have failed opiates, which Onishi says is sometimes hard to see.

“It puts us in really, really hard positions,” said Onishi. “Because they may qualify in other states and it may benefit them, but they don’t qualify in the state of Pennsylvania, which is very, very sad. It’s kind of hard from our point of view but we have to follow the law.”

Since it is not federally legal, different states can have different laws with regard to the drug, meaning that a patient not eligible in one state may be eligible in the next.

There are a listed 17 qualified medical conditions that make a patient eligible for medical cannabis in the state of Pennsylvania; such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, autism and others. Once receiving a patient’s charts, it is not difficult to determine who is and isn’t legally eligible for medical cannabis under Pennsylvania state law.

While some will be able to utilize the benefits of medical marijuana, Onishi believes an act could have been constructed to ensure more people in pain are able to legally use it, without needing to fail alternative methods first.

“It is a correct path,” said Onishi. “I wish that the law was easier so that more people could qualify and try medical marijuana. They made it so hard that they have to fail opioid treatment or have a history of opioid addiction to qualify for it, which is very, very sad. It’ll still definitely help, but I wish it was better.”

Onishi and other licensed practitioners in the area are currently filling out recommendations to the state for those eligible for medical marijuana. After users receive a card showing their approval, they will have to wait until around April 2018 for dispensaries, such as the one that just broke ground in Washington, Pennsylvania, to determine the amount they can use.