Delaware to Increase Patient Access Next Year

On December 2, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services issued a request for proposals for two new medical marijuana compassion centers, one in Sussex and another in Kent County. The announcement comes six months after the state’s first center opened in Wilmington in June. The new dispensaries are scheduled to open in the fall of 2016.

The addition of two centers will help to better meet the needs of Delaware patients and will reduce the distances they have to travel. Currently, one dispensary serves the more than 700 patients and caregivers who have registered in the state since the program began. Under existing restrictions, a compassion center can only have up to 2,000 ounces of usable inventory at a time. Unfortunately, patients and caregivers are not allowed to cultivate their own medicine, so increasing the number of dispensaries is vital to ensuring safe, reliable access.

Proposals will be accepted until 11:00 a.m. on March 30, 2016.

A mandatory pre-bid meeting will be held on February 1 at the Delaware Division of Public Health, Jesse Cooper Building, Third Floor Conference Room in Dover. Applicants must preregister at (302) 744-4862.