MORGANTOWN – West Virginians’ demand for medical cannabis continues to grow.
Meanwhile, the national conversation reveals the ongoing debate over the value of cannabis – with a recent presidential executive order and a New York Times editorial heading in opposite directions. A WVU Medicine addiction specialist shared some resources on the issues behind that conversation.
In Morgantown, a new medical cannabis dispensary recently opened at Earl Core and Hartman Run roads: Country Grown Cannabis. That put the Morgantown dispensary count at eight, with one in Westover, one in Kingwood, three in Fairmont and one in White Hall.
And for West Virginia, the most data provided by the state Office of Medical Cannabis shows 35,202 approved patients, as of December 2025: a small decline from October 2025, when the number was 35,598; but higher than the 34,003 from our prior report in September 2024.
Sales revenue fluctuates from month to month, according to The Transparency Project – the national data source used by the OMC. In August 2024, revenue was $8.39 million. More recently, in October 2025, it was $8.09 million; and in December, $7.97 million.
January and February revenues saw significant dips: $6.6 million and $4.07 million, respectively. The OMC notes that the medical cannabis industry supports about 2,000 jobs in West Virginia through direct and indirect employment.
From sales since the program began operating in 2021, the state treasurer’s office told The Dominion Post, about $38 million in taxes have been collected. That money is supposed to be used to fund research, addiction resources and law enforcement training – but there’s a glitch that we’ll talk about a little later.
There are two ways patients can get certified to purchase medical cannabis: see a participating physician or call a phone number to connect with a telehealth provider.
The number of participating physicians has actually fallen since our 2024 report. Then, it was 140; now, according to OMC, it’s 123. The number of participating telehealth companies remains constant, at 26.
Trump executive order
In December, President Trump signed Executive Order 14370, titled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research.”
The order’s intent is to expedite the Drug Enforcement Administration reclassifying cannabis from Schedule I, no medical value and high potential for abuse, to Schedule III, moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. Examples of Schedule III drugs, the DEA says, are Tylenol with codeine, ketamine (an anesthetic), anabolic steroids and testosterone.
The order says that in 2023, an FDA review found that cannabis had medical value in treating certain conditions. The Department of Health and Human Resources then recommended that the DEA reschedule it.
“The Federal Government’s long delay in recognizing the medical use of marijuana does not serve the Americans who report health benefits from the medical use of marijuana to ease chronic pain and other various medically recognized ailments,” the order says.
“It is the policy of my Administration to increase medical marijuana and CBD research to better inform patients and doctors. It is critical to close the gap between current medical marijuana and CBD use and medical knowledge of risks and benefits, including for specific populations and conditions,” the order says.
While the Trump administration favors rescheduling in order to promote research, the New York Times reversed its long-held position favoring marijuana legalization, noting issues with addiction and underage use.
The Times’ change in position was influenced in part by the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, done for the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Among the survey’s findings, the percentage of the U.S. population age 12 and up that used marijuana increased from 13.2% (37 million people) in 2021 to 15.4% (44.3 million) in 2024. The percentage of adolescents using marijuana remained constant, at 6% (1.6 million children).
Tax revenue tied up
To date, the state hasn’t been able to use the cannabis tax money it’s collected – as an October article by Mountain State Spotlight revealed. The treasurer’s office explained why.
“Given this is an illegal substance considered by the federal government, there have been concerns about passing these dollars through federally regulated banks,” the office told The Dominion Post. “It has put states in a real bind as far as how to properly handle fees, taxes and revenue raised by legal cannabis industries; however, President Trump’s recent reclassification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug helps with possible action moving forward.”
The money has been moved, the office said, “and the Legislature seems to have interest in changing how the money is distributed. We have a resolution coming very soon and we are working diligently to solve this issue.”
HB 5074 passed in the House of Delegates on March 4 and now is in Senate Finance. It would, among other things, give $3 million to the state Supreme Court for a new Child Protection Commission, $10 million to WVU for Ibogaine research (a hallucinogen with the potential to treat addiction), $5 million to the Division of Primary Care for services for the homeless, 15% to the OMC for administrative purposes, 15% to the Department of Agriculture for medical cannabis testing, 10% to Marshall University for cannabis research, and 10% to WVU’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute for substance use disorder research.
Cannabis concerns
Among the 123 physicians willing to certify patients is a surgical oncologist at WVU Medicine. We asked WVUM for an interview with him but WVUM declined, thanking us for reaching out and saying, “We have no comment.”
However, Dr. James Berry, chair of WVU’s Department of Behavioral Medicine and Psychiatry and director of Addictions, has spoken before with The Dominion Post about his medical cannabis concerns and recently shared a number of resources illustrating those concerns.
Berry said he would support rescheduling cannabis if it led to more thorough research about the risks and benefits. At this time, he sees no benefits.
Among the resources he shared, a study reported by the American Psychiatric Association says, “as cannabis use becomes more common and weed more potent, the link between the drug and serious mood disorders is intensifying.”
And a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that adolescent cannabis use was associated with an increased risk of developing psychotic, bipolar, depressive and anxiety disorders by young adulthood.
The study says adolescents who reported past-year cannabis use had higher rates of clinician-diagnosed psychiatric disorders: twice the risk of developing a psychotic disorder or bipolar disorder; a 34% higher risk of developing depressive disorders; a 24% higher risk of developing an anxiety disorder.
Research done by the International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis describes the “Top 15 Risks of Marijuana on Health.”
The top risk is brain development. The brain continues to grow until the mid 20s, it says. “The youthful brain is busy developing myelin to coat brain nerve cells so they conduct faster. It is also involved in synaptic pruning, selecting the best pathways and habits for the brain. During this susceptible time, exposure to any addictive drug can stunt brain development. Youth marijuana use can have long-term consequences.”
Other risks include psychosis, depression, suicidal thoughts, associated misuse of prescription drugs and addiction. “Youths who use marijuana are 4 to 7 times more likely than adults to develop a cannabis use disorder.”
Two others are withdrawal and cannabis hyperemesis syndrome, also known as “scromiting.” which involves intense abdominal pain and vomiting.
