Cannabis in Morgantown & WVU — The First Dispensary

Last verified: May 2026

November 12, 2021 — Trulieve Morgantown, the First WV Medical Sale

The West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act (SB 386) was signed into law by then-Gov. Jim Justice on April 19, 2017 — but it took four and a half years for a single legal sale to happen. The first sale finally occurred on Friday, November 12, 2021, when Trulieve Morgantown opened the doors of its dispensary at 1397 Earl Core Road in the Sabraton neighborhood on the eastern edge of Morgantown. Trulieve’s opening was the milestone the state had been waiting for, and the line of patients on opening day stretched around the building.

Morgantown was a logical first choice for a number of reasons: WVU Medicine’s patient base, a younger and more progressive city demographic than the state average, proximity to the Pennsylvania border (where the medical program had been operating since 2018), and Sabraton’s industrial-zoned commercial corridor along Earl Core Road. Trulieve’s Morgantown dispensary remains the symbolic flagship of the WV program. See Trulieve first-sale page.

The Densest Dispensary Cluster in West Virginia

By May 2026, the Morgantown metro had emerged as the most heavily served dispensary market in the state. Operators within the Morgantown city limits or in the immediately adjacent Westover include:

• Trulieve Morgantown — 1397 Earl Core Road, Sabraton (the first WV dispensary, November 12, 2021)
• Verano Zen Leaf Morgantown — in Morgantown proper
• Verano Zen Leaf Westover — across the Monongahela River in Westover
• Columbia Care / Cannabist — on Don Knotts Boulevard (named for the Morgantown-born actor Don Knotts)
• New Leaf Cannabis — two Morgantown locations (the WV-rooted operator that ultimately opened Martinsburg in June 2022 to bring dispensaries to the Eastern Panhandle)

The Morgantown patient population is large enough — and dense enough geographically — to support six dispensary footprints. By contrast, Charleston went without a city-limits dispensary until Verano Zen Leaf opened January 2, 2026, more than four years after Trulieve Morgantown.

West Virginia University — The State’s Largest Progressive Enclave

West Virginia University enrolled approximately 28,000 students in fall 2025 across its Morgantown main campus, the WVU Health Sciences Center, and satellite operations. WVU is the largest single employer in Monongalia County and one of the largest in the state. The university’s presence shapes Morgantown culturally: a substantial student-age population, a high proportion of out-of-state residents (particularly from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, New Jersey, and Northern Virginia), and a younger political profile than the WV state average.

WVU itself, however, is bound by the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and prohibits cannabis (medical or otherwise) on its campuses, in dormitories, and at university events. WVU Police enforce state cannabis law on campus, and possession in a dorm room can trigger both criminal charges under W. Va. Code § 60A-4-401(c) and Student Conduct disciplinary process. The WVU School of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and School of Dentistry operate under federal accreditation that imposes additional employee restrictions. See WVU progressive pocket page.

WVU Medicine — The Patient-Demand Engine

WVU Medicine (J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital and the broader WVU Health System) is the largest health system in West Virginia, with the WVU Cancer Institute, the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, and the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute all anchored in Morgantown. WVU Medicine serves patients drawn from across the state and from western Maryland, southwestern Pennsylvania, and southeastern Ohio. The Cancer Institute’s patient population is among the largest categories of medical-cannabis qualifying-condition certifications in West Virginia (cancer is one of the original SB 386 conditions). Severe chronic pain, intractable seizures, and PTSD — all WV qualifying conditions — are also high-volume diagnosis categories at WVU Medicine. See qualifying-conditions page.

NIOSH Morgantown — The Federal Research Footprint

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, operates a major research facility in Morgantown at 1095 Willowdale Road. The NIOSH Morgantown campus employs hundreds of federal scientists and support staff working on coal-mine dust, respiratory protection, and broader occupational-health research. Federal employment at NIOSH carries the standard Drug-Free Workplace Act obligations — federal employees cannot use cannabis even with a state medical card, and federal pre-employment and random drug testing applies.

Other federal employers in the Morgantown area include the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) at the South Park campus and the FBI’s Biometric Technology Center adjacent to the FBI CJIS Division in Clarksburg (~30 miles south). These federal facilities draw a workforce that, on paper, cannot use the WV medical program. See federal-clearances page.

Pennsylvania Cross-Border — Mon County to Greene County

Monongalia County abuts Greene County, Pennsylvania, just to the north. Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis program has been operational since February 2018, and Pennsylvania has been one step closer to recreational legalization in nearly every legislative session since 2022 (Gov. Josh Shapiro has supported adult-use; the GOP-controlled state Senate has been the obstacle). For Morgantown residents, Waynesburg PA medical dispensaries are 25 minutes away and Pittsburgh-area dispensaries are 75 minutes away. The Pennsylvania border is also the most-watched corridor for I-79 cross-border interdiction by WV State Police. Pennsylvania is not yet adult-use, so the cross-border dynamic is less acute than at the Ohio (since August 6, 2024) or Maryland (since July 1, 2023) borders — but it is monitored. See Pennsylvania cross-border page.

Morgantown Cannabis Reality

• First WV dispensary: Trulieve Morgantown opened November 12, 2021 at 1397 Earl Core Road in Sabraton
• Densest dispensary cluster: Trulieve + Verano (2) + Cannabist + New Leaf (2) = 6 footprints
• WVU: ~28,000 students, state’s largest progressive enclave; campus prohibition under DFSCA
• WVU Medicine: largest WV health system; high cancer/pain/PTSD certification volume
• NIOSH (CDC): federal research footprint with Drug-Free Workplace Act obligations
• Pennsylvania border: Greene County PA medical dispensaries 25 minutes north