Sussex County’s medical marijuana provider named
First State Compassion Center, the state’s first licensed medical marijuana distributor, has been named as the bid winner for the contract to dispense the green leafy medicine in Sussex County.
The announcement was made by Joe Handlon, a justice department attorney representing the state, during court proceedings in Georgetown today.
Milton resident Todd Boone filed a lawsuit against the state for moving too slow in the implementation process of the medical marijuana program. Medical marijuana was legalized in Delaware in 2011. According to the legislation creating the program, if conditions warranted, there should be two in each county by now.
Handlon first asked for the case to be dismissed, and then updated Superior Court Judge E. Scott Bradley on the status of the medical marijuana program.
Handlon said First State Compassion Center was expected to open its Sussex County location by January 2017.
This is the second winning bid for First State Compassion Center to dispense medical marijuana in Delaware. Their Wilmington-based facility opened its doors in June 2015.
Mark Lally, First State Compassion Center president, didn’t confirm or deny the signing of the contract.
“A future press release will be forthcoming,” he said in an email.
Emily Knearl, Delaware Division of Public Health spokeswoman, confirmed the signing of the contract. She said a statement from the division would be coming on Monday, Oct. 24.
The Delaware Division of Public Health announced Sept. 23 that New York-based Columbia Care had been selected to open Kent County's first medical marijuana dispensary. This was the second license given by the state to cultivate and dispense medical marijuana under the 2011 law.
See more on the story in the Tuesday, Oct. 25, issue of the Cape Gazette.