Media outlets are reporting that eight of the 20 medical marijuana dispensaries licensed to do business in New York State opened on Jan. 7. In the Big Apple, Columbia Care debuted its Union Square location. Three more stores are slated to open - in Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx. Sorry, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Here are the New York locations:
• OPEN: Columbia Care, 222 E. 14 St., Manhattan
• Bloomfield Industries, 345 E. 37 St., Manhattan
• Vireo Health, 89-55 Queens Blvd., Queens
• PharmaCann, 405 Hunts Point Ave., the Bronx (note new location)
Also open:
• Vireo Health, 217-219 E. Post Rd., White Plains
• Etain, 445 State Rte. 28, Kingston
• Bloomfield Industries, 52 S. Union Rd., Amherst
• PharmaCann, 25 Northpointe Pkwy., Amherst
Just 51 patients and 150 doctors have signed up so far for the New York State Medical Marijuana Program, which was passed by the legislature in 2014. "I've heard of a lot of frustration," the DPA's Julie Netherland tells the Daily News. "I have specific concerns about the implementation of the program and how successful it will be, especially from a patient access standpoint."
The program allows for only 10 medical conditions and does not permit smoking. All products must be in concentrate, tincture or pill form. No flowers will be sold.
The allowable conditions are: cancer, HIV infection or AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury with spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy and Huntington's disease. The associated or complicating conditions are: cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe or persistent muscle spasms.
Read the NYS MMJ Program FAQ here.
The five companies that have been licensed to cultivate and sell marijuana in New York State will each have one grow facility. Bloomfield Industries is the New York area cultivator. Their warehouse is located on Borden Ave. in Queens.
