Top Stories

Medical marijuana facility to break ground in McKeesport

McKeesport became the medical marijuana capital of Allegheny County on Thursday.

Community members and elected officials broke ground for PurePenn’s 21,000-square-foot facility in the RIDC Industrial Park. One of the first licensed production sites in Pennsylvania, the facility sits on five acres.

TRENDING NOW:

Danielle McGurk, whose daughters have epilepsy, took part in the groundbreaking and said medical marijuana has changed both of her daughters' lives.

"Knowing I am not going to have to travel out of my state and do anything illegal to get my kids the help they need is a blessing," McGurk said. "This is life-saving. This is going to be life-changing."

Community members also said they hope the facility jump starts the economy. PurePenn hosted a job fair at the McKeesport Palisades Event Center on Thursday where more than 1,000 people are competing for 25-50 jobs.

"We are bringing good, family sustaining jobs back to McKeesport. This area was devastated by the steel industry (leaving)," said Pure Penn CEO Gabe Perlow.

Perlow said the jobs start at $15 per hour.

As part of the event, the city and PurePenn also hosted a community gathering. After the groundbreaking, PurePenn presented a $50,000 check to the McKeesport Community Fund.