James Thomas’ hips began to bother him three or four years after he had joint replacement surgery. He turned to medical marijuana and is still testing out the right formulation.

“I haven’t found the right marijuana yet,” the 69-year-old retired heavy equipment operator from Wilkinsburg said. He has tried a spray and smoking flowers, a consumer preference.

“Let’s just say it was kind of mellow, and the spray was about the same,” he said. “It made me a lot friendlier, smiling, cracking jokes, maybe even talking more than I usually do. It always lifted me up.”

It also eased his hip pain, he said.

Thanks to consumers like Mr. Thomas and the prospect of legalized marijuana for recreational use in the state, Pennsylvania’s pot industry is on a roll. The market has reached $3.4 billion in total sales since 2018, according to the state’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board. Dispensaries have generated $2 billion of those sales.

Since marijuana was legalized in Pennsylvania for treatment of serious medical conditions in 2016, 633,557 patients and caregivers have signed up to date, as purchase requires a doctor’s prescription.

And if recreational marijuana gets legalized in Pennsylvania, sales could quickly more than double, if Illinois’ experience is any guide. [Read More @ Pittsburg Post-Gazette]