Jason Martinez was diagnosed with blood cancer last February, so he decided to start treating it with medical marijuana.

“Each time I go get blood tested, my numbers keep falling and falling,” Martinez said. “I used to have to see my cancer doctor every 30 days for blood work and bone marrow biopsies, now I’m down to every 6 months.”

Monday, he got his first bag of prescriptions filled at Herbology in DuBois. Herbology is the first medical marijuana dispensary in Clearfield County.

“For most people there aren’t many locations in the Pennsylvania area,” Herbology outreach and education manager Ian Gibbs said. “DuBois seems to be a nice, centralized area in North Central PA. A lot of people find that traveling to DuBois is a lot more convenient and it’s a lot more accessible to them.”

Martinez was driving from Marienville in Forest County to the dispensary in Butler, now that drive is cut back by an hour.

“I will not have to come shopping for a big medication supply, if I need medication right away, I can come and get it.”

Herbology is expected to open another dispensary in Altoona around November. More locations are expected to open around the state by the end of the year.