POTTSVILLE, Pa. -- On a weekday afternoon, cars buzz past the Schuylkill Trust Company building on North Centre Street in Pottsville, but what looks like a bank on the outside will soon be home to a medical marijuana dispensary on the inside.
The building was purchased Thursday by Agape Total Health Care, Inc. for $340,000.
The company was awarded licenses by the state to own and operate marijuana dispensaries in south-central Pennsylvania.
With vaults, private rooms, and countertops, the owners say they could not have found a better building to retrofit into a medical marijuana dispensary. After a little remodeling and some security upgrades, the building will be ready for business.
The owners tell Newswatch 16 they hope to have this medical marijuana dispensary open by June of this year. People in Pottsville have mixed feelings about its opening.
"I think it's a long time overdue process. I think even recreational marijuana federally is long overdue," said Michael Bleashka.
"I disagree with it. People shouldn't be taking marijuana for medical conditions. They should be taking prescription medications, and I just disagree with prescription marijuana," said Debora Urban.
"Good, I hope it helps the people that really, really need it. Not to add to anything else, but to help the people it's necessary for," said Dennis Hewes.
Some people who live in Pottsville are hoping it adds to the revitalization of the city and brings a boost to local businesses.
"It will definitely bring a lot more people downtown because this is something you can't get at Walmart, you know what I'm saying? You have to go to one of these dispensaries to get it. So in order to do that, you have to come to downtown and Mom and Pop [shops] are gonna come back to life," said Bleashka.
Agape Total Health Care is also in the process of opening dispensaries in Reading and Philadelphia.