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HARRISBURG -- Pennsylvania’s Department of Health lacks adequate controls to ensure inspections and enforcement actions involving medical marijuana growers, processors and dispensaries are conducted consistently, according to a performance audit released by the state Auditor General’s Office.
The audit, which reviewed the state’s Medical Marijuana Program during 2024, also found inadequate approval processes for conclusions reached in response to complaints and for plans designed to correct problems identified by regulators.
Auditor General Timothy L. DeFoor’s office issued nine recommendations aimed at strengthening the Health Department’s oversight of the program. The department agreed with the audit’s findings and has begun implementing some of the recommendations, according to the Auditor General’s Office.
The review examined how the department conducted inspections, responded to complaints and took enforcement actions involving licensed growers, processors and dispensaries. According to DeFoor’s office, it was the first performance audit of those monitoring processes since Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program was established in 2016.
Auditors found the department lacked sufficient internal controls to ensure inspections, enforcement actions and related procedures were performed consistently.
The audit also found that inadequate approval processes for complaint conclusions and plans of correction reduced the effectiveness of the department’s oversight.
Among the recommendations, auditors called on the Health Department to implement and consistently use a standardized inspection checklist. The department was also urged to finalize and approve standard operating procedures for inspections and complaints and establish formal processes for documenting its oversight activities.
DeFoor said inconsistent procedures could allow problems to go uncorrected and potentially result in unsafe conditions at facilities or with products. The audit findings provided by his office did not indicate that auditors identified unsafe medical marijuana products.
The audit covered Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.
Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana in 2016, establishing a state-regulated system for patients with qualifying medical conditions to obtain marijuana from licensed dispensaries.