Peak Harvest Health, a company aiming to become one of the first medical marijuana growers in Maryland, will partner with Cumberland-based Western Maryland Health System on cannabis research, according to the Baltimore Business Journal.
Under the partnership, the hospital will assist Peak Harvest Health with clinical trials at the company's planned facility. The company is currently awaiting approval on a cultivation license under Maryland's medical marijuana program. If approved, the company would build a 170,000-square-foot cultivation plant in Cumberland.
Western Maryland Health System CEO Barry Ronan said he decided to go ahead with the partnership as a result of a major change in his personal perspective on the medical marijuana debate, according to the report. He described his family's experience in 2014 when his 32-year-old son-in-law discovered a growth in his knee that turned out to be an aggressive form of cancer.
"I saw what he was going through. There were days he was virtually catatonic. Here's this strapping guy, 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, full of life, healthy as healthy could be and this occurred," Mr. Ronan said, according to the report. "To see what he was going through and to recognize: If there is any possible opportunity available to guide or help him through this process, I wanted that available to him. Certainly, I know folks who are battling cancer who are using medicinal marijuana and have found it to be more helpful."
Mr. Ronan estimated roughly 2,200 patients the hospital treated last year had conditions that could have benefited from medical marijuana, such as those in the behavioral health, cancer, rehabilitation and pain management programs, according to the report.
Western Maryland Health System marks the second such partnership Peak Harvest Health has made. In December, Frostburg (Md.) State University also said it would partner with Peak Harvest on research and workforce development opportunities.