Christina “Chrissy” J. Visco of Wyndmoor, the first woman to receive a medical marijuana license in Pennsylvania, died on October 19 of breast cancer, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Locally, Visco was known as the owner of the TerraVida Holistic Center in Abington, which opened its doors in April 2018. She was at one time the state’s dominant retailer of medical marijuana, overseeing dispensaries in Abington, Sellersville and Malvern.

The center was located at 1626 Old York Road, the former Abington Veterinary Hospital building. Today, Zen Leaf Dispensaries own that location. According to The Inquirer, Visco sold her company in 2021 but stayed on as an executive with the firm.

She also established the VOWD Project — Victims of the War on Drugs — a nonprofit designed to “improve the lives of those victimized by cannabis prohibition.”

In 2018, a former cannabis business colleague told The Inquirer: “There’s good reason why Chris has been so successful, and it’s not just her keen business sense. Chris really cares about her patients’ well-being, and it shows. You really can’t fake that kind of empathy.”

Among other endeavors, she opened a bakery at the Flourtown Farmer’s Market before entering the medical marijuana industry.

For the full story, you can click here. For more on Visco’s early experiences with TerraVida, you can read Cannabis Business Times’ 2018 article here.

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Photo: Chris Visco, Zen Leaf Dispensaries