The State College area’s fourth medical marijuana dispensary is set to open this fall.
Pennsylvania-based Vytal Options expects to open on Oct. 3 at 1653 N. Atherton St., near Walmart in the North Atherton Place plaza. The dispensary will be open 10 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The Patton Township location will be Vytal Options’ sixth in the state.
A State College-area location was a natural fit for the dispensary, whose parent company, PA Options for Wellness, signed a 10-year agreement with the Penn State College of Medicine in 2019 to collaborate on research into the potential benefits and risks of using marijuana extracts to treat a variety of health issues.
“Vytal Options, a PA Options for Wellness medical marijuana dispensary, is excited to bring our excellent patient service as well as quality products to the State College area,” CEO and founder Thomas A. Trite said in a statement. “We were one of the first three medical marijuana clinical registrants approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Health to conduct research. After undergoing an extensive review process, we were selected by the Penn State University and their College of Medicine to collaborate and research medical cannabis.”
Vytal Options will join three other dispensaries along North Atherton Street. Ayr Wellness, 2105 N. Atherton St. was the first to open in 2018, while Curaleaf, 1248 S. Atherton St., and Verilife, 1820 S. Atherton St., opened this year
Samantha Alderfer, director of marketing and business development, said Vytal Options is smaller than those competitors, but that its research links, education- and medically-focused model and emphasis on patient needs make it different .
“We are a very medically-focused dispensary,” Alderfer said. “We pride ourselves on education and enhancing the marketplace for Centre County patients because they haven’t had opportunities like this.”
Vytal Options will have a pharmacist on-site for one-on-one consultations and educated wellness associates to assist patients. It has a program to connect patients with certification to get their ID card and programs for patient case studies and research.
“Our team is dedicated to providing safe access to medical cannabis,” Trite said. “It is our mission to improve patient outcomes and their quality of life, and to help educate providers and patients in the Centre County community and across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”
As a clinical registrant in Pennsylvania, PA Options for Wellness is also a licensed grower-processor, allowing it to grow and produce its own products in Duncannon.
It stocks its own brands but also those from the major brands in Pennsylvania, including an array of flower, vapes, concentrates, ingestibles, tinctures and topicals.
Menus are customized to local market needs and Vytal Options will help patients get the products they are looking for, Alderfer said.
“There are other dispensaries in town but we are bringing products to the marketplace that are an assortment for the patients,” Alderfer said. “If a patient says we want you to bring in X brand we do. We’re doing that for the patients. We do have our grow where we will put our products into the stores, but at the end of the day we are more patient-focused.”
Some of Vytal Options branded products are also sold in other dispensaries, like troches that deliver medical marijuana through a sublingual tablet.
“That is really our claim to fame right now,” Alderfer said. “We’re the only ones in the state. All of the multi-state operators and licensed processors in the state, they’re starting to bring in our troches in their dispensaries.”
Vytal Options also offers an extensive rewards program as well discounts for groups such as students, seniors, health care workers, veterans and first responders. Each week will feature specials and sales so patients can get to know products better.
“When you walk in you’re not going to hear thumping music… It’s almost like going into a doctor’s office,” Alderfer said. “The reason we get the younger audience that maybe does want that vibe is our sales are so good. Our medical model is working.”
Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program was signed into law in 2016 and currently has 414,446 active patients statewide, according to a Department of Health spokesperson.
The spokesperson said the state does not provide information on the number of license-holders by county.
