State seeks bids for Kent, Sussex medical marijuana dispensaries

Four years after medical marijuana became legal in Delaware, the state health department is seeking bids to open medical marijuana dispensaries in Kent and Sussex counties.

Medical marijuana became legal in Delaware in 2011 and the state's first, and only, dispensing site, First State Compassion Center, opening in Wilmington this June. Under the law, the state can open one dispensary in each county.

Officials say more than 700 Delaware residents have cards issued by the state health department allowing them to purchase marijuana from the center. But many live far away from the Wilmington dispensary and can't make use of its services.

The requests for proposal are long overdue to some medical marijuana patients, one of whom has filed a lawsuit against the state alleging that the delay to open compassion centers in each county goes directly against a timeline mandated in the law.

"It's two years down the road past the date they said," said Todd Boone, the Milton-area man who filed the lawsuit

Delaware's medical marijuana law reads that "the Department shall issue a compassion center registration certificate to the highest scoring applicant in each county by January 1, 2013. If there are only applicants from 1 or 2 counties, no later than January 1, 2013, the Department shall issue a compassion center registration certificate to the highest scoring applicant in each county with an applicant."

The Delaware Division of Public Health oversees the state's medical marijuana dispensaries. Emily Knearl director of public health’s risk communication, said the division does not comment on pending litigation.

Knearl said in an email that licensing of the compassion centers had been suspended due to conflicting guidance from the federal government regarding state medical marijuana programs. However, by August 2013, the feds had provided enough clarity to help state officials move forward with a pilot compassion center.

"When the pilot center opened, DHSS said it would monitor the operations and consider opening compassion centers in the other two counties. We have 776 medical marijuana cardholders at this time," she said.

Knearl said that given the "sharp increase in the number of cardholders" since opening the dispensary in Wilmington, the request for proposals are "the next step in addressing access for these individuals."

Boone, who suffers from a head injury and lingering pain from a motorcycle accident, is allergic to pain medication such as Vicodin and Oxycodone, so he turns to medical marijuana to get some relief.

"I have to drive to Wilmington twice a week. That’s almost 350 miles both times I go up there," he said.

Deb McPherson of New Castle, a medical marijuana cardholder who started the Delaware Patient Network, said the request for proposal is "excellent news," but she wants to know what is being done for patients in the interim until the downstate dispensaries are up and running.

Medical marijuana cardholders who live outside of New Castle County and are confined to being at home without family or friends as caregivers can't access the First State Compassion Center, she said.

"Those people are still going to be suffering until that time," McPherson said.

Perhaps the law could be amended so patients could pick up medical marijuana for other patients, she added, or allow people to grow a small quantity of marijuana at their home.

According to the new request for proposal, the new compassion centers will be able to "cultivate as many marijuana plants as necessary to satisfy the patient demand."

However, they can have no more than 2,000 ounces of "usable inventory" under Delaware medical marijuana regulations.

No taxpayer money will be used to fund the creation of the new compassion centers, the request says. Owners will be responsible for the funds to establish and operate the dispensaries.

Vendors should submit their bid before 11 a.m. March 30, 2016. The application fee is $5,000. The health department will issue registration certificates by Aug. 1, 2016.

Jen Rini can be reached at (302) 324-2386 or jrini@delawareonline.com. Follow @JenRini on Twitter.