Scott Goss|The News Journal
Delaware's next medical marijuana dispensary couldbe opening in Milford, sixmonths later than initially planned.
New York-based Columbia Care now says it will notopencentral Delaware's first dispensary until at least next spring – marking the latest delayto roll out a statewide medical marijuana program.
"We're dying out here," said Debra McPherson-Nau, who runs the independent medical marijuanaadvocacy group The Delaware Patient Network.
"Right now, there isonlyone company operating dispensaries and it hashigh prices and low quality," she said. "Every patient is suffering big time while we waitfor new ones to open."
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The General Assemblyapproved the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act in 2011, but then-Gov. Jack Markell delayed its implementation for years.
A contract for Delaware's first dispensary near Wilmington was awarded in 2014 to a First State Compassion Center. But legal issues and construction delays pushed back the openinganother year.
First Statewon a second contract in 2016 to open a dispensary in Lewes. That facility opened in May– again after months of delays.
The company remains the state'sonly source of medical marijuana, which can be used to treat a host of qualifying conditionssuch as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, HIV and ailments that cause severe pain and nausea.
"Because there is only one owner, it's pretty much one dispensary with two locations," said Kim Petters, an Air Force veteran who uses medical marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
"And that still forces patients in central Delaware to drive 45 minutes north or south for their medicine," the Magnolia resident said.
Columbia Care, which operates dispensaries in several other states, promised to fix that when it wona state contract to serve Kent County in September 2016.
More than 500 peoplecertified by their doctors to purchase medical marijuana live in Kent County, according to the state health department. That's about 14.5 percent of the 3,588 medical marijuana patients statewide as of July 1.
Medical marijuana patients and advocates say they have high hopes the addition of new dispensary owners will foster enough competition to drivedown the high prices and limited supply they encounter at First State.
A contract for a second New Castle County dispensary, located in Newark,was awarded this year to Compassionate Care Research Institute, a New Jersey-based company. A spokesman for CCRI said Tuesday that the business is "optimistically hopeful" it will open on Ogletown Road next spring.
"It's a disappointing and a little frustrating," criminal defense lawyer Tom Donovan of Dover said of the Columbia Care's postponed opening. "Maybe it's time the state openedthe bidding process again to get companies that can open when they say they will."
Columbia Care declined to say what caused the delay.
But a spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, which oversees the state's medical marijuana program, attributed the setback to zoning, construction and permitting holdups.
"Many milestones that lead up to construction of the grow facilities are outside the state’s and vendor’s control," Emily Knearl said. "We can understand how delays in the opening can be frustrating but are confident our contractor is working in good faith to open as soon as possible."
Columbia Carehas yet to revealthelocation of its Kent County dispensary.
However, a copy of its2016 state contract, obtained by The News Journal, indicates both the company's manufacturing facility and its dispensary will be located in Milford, which straddles the Kent/Sussex County line.
The exact address of the dispensary is blacked out throughout the document, but other cluesare not.
The contract states Columbia Care will lease its property from Milford Associates, the owner of the Milford Industrial Park off U.S. Route 113. Columbia Care also states in the document that the location will be accessible by public transportation "using the bus stop at Airpark Plaza," a shopping center about one mile north of the Milfordindustrial park.
The Commonwealth Group, a Wilmington-based company that manages the industrial park, did not return emails and phone messages seeking comment.
Milford Mayor Bryan Shupe saidColumbia Care has been issued a building permit for the industrial park. But, he said, it would be a zoning violation if they opened a dispensary there.
"Our planning commission has not received any requests from them at this point," he said.
Columbia Care's contract with the health department indicates the potential zoning violation may have come as a surprise to the company.
The document states the dispensary will be "co-located" with the manufacturing facility. Officials with Columbia Care on Tuesday wouldsay only that they are "still securing a retail location."
DHSS officials, meanwhile, saythe company has a lease for a location. But they declined to say where it is, citing a strict confidentiality provision in the state's medical marijuana law.
"Columbia Care is renovating an existing building for its growing facility and Office of Medical Marijuana staff have visited the construction site," Knearl said. "Additionally, they have presented evidence of a lease for their retail facility."
The possibility that the dispensary might open near the Sussex County line– about 20 miles from the Lewes dispensary– is not sitting well with patients in Kent County, many who had hoped for a Dover location.
"Milford is still a 20- to 25-minute drive for me and even farther for people who live in Smyrna," Petters said.
"With any other medication, you'd have your choice of picking it up at 10 pharmacies within 5 miles," she said. "And for a lot of vets on a fixed income, the cost of travel can have a real impact."
Contact reporter Scott Goss at (302) 324-2281, sgoss@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ScottGossDel.
