BATTLE OF THE PARKS: Forest Park won a key volleyball match Monday at Osbourn Park, Page 7
September 25, 2019 | Vol. 18, No. 39 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | 50¢ Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.
Local medical marijuana facility to open by year’s end By Daniel Berti
Times Staff Writer
Prince William County will soon be home to one of five new medical marijuana facilities opening in the state of Virginia following the passage of state laws allowing healthcare practitioners to issue medical cannabis “certifications” to patients in need. Dalitso LLC, a Virginia-based company that specializes in the production of medical cannabis, will open its doors in the Manassas area later this year. The company is expected to begin growing medical cannabis in December and will likely have a crop by early spring, ac-
cording to the company spokesman Aaron Lopez. Dalitso will grow, process and dispense medicinal cannabis products all in one facility, Lopez said. The company will grow marijuana indoors and process the plant to extract CBD and THC-A oils on site. The products will then be sold through a dispensary storefront located in the same building. The Manassas-area building is Dalitso’s only current venture. The company has not yet revealed the location of the facility because it’s still finalizing permits, Lopez said. “Dalitso started from a group of Virginians that felt they could be
strong patient advocates and to a great job of producing safe and effective products for their citizens,” Lopez said. “This is our first venture into this market. We will only have one building located here in Virginia.” Under Virginia law, the dispensary will be able to sell medical can-
nabis products in a variety of forms including oils, capsules, topicals, lozenges, lollipops and suppositories, with an allowance of up to 10 milligrams of THC each. None of the facilities’ products will be covered by insurance because marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. Also because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, cannabis products are not prescribed in the United States but are recommended or certified to patients. In Virginia, patients are protected from crimiSee MARIJUANA, page 4
More houses, more green? County staff plan calls for new rules in the rural crescent By Jill Palermo
Times Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY DELIA ENGSTROM
Sonic opens with a boom
Fans of Sonic Drive-In’s burgers, hot dogs, tater tots, milkshakes and cherry-lime sodas snaked around the dining room and into the parking lot of Prince William County’s first Sonic-brand restaurant, which opened on Wednesday, Sept. 18, near Balls Ford and Sudley roads in Manassas. Owner Jerome R. Johnson said he is thankful for the community’s support during their first week. “We don’t just want to be in the community, we want to be a part of it,” Johnson said. “We really are enjoying the love and the support the community is showing us. It’s been terrific.” INSIDE Business...............................................9 Classifieds ..........................................17 Library Page.......................................13 Lifestyle..............................................11
The Prince William Planning Department has released its recommendations for changes to the county’s rural crescent that could add about 2,000 homes in the area while sending more than 3,400 “development rights” to more populated areas – all in an effort to preserve about 20,000 acres of open space. The recommendations, first released online on Tuesday, Sept. 17, were to be formally presented Tuesday, Sept. 24, during a county planning meeting at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. The county staff’s proposal marks a sharp reduction in residential density that might have occurred under some initial ideas staff presented in July. Those options included changes that could have added as many as 10,390 homes – and an estimated 33,000 people – to the rural crescent, an area now See HOUSES, page 4
Obituaries...........................................16 Opinion ................................................5 Puzzle Page..........................................6 Real Estate .........................................15 Sports ..................................................7
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