STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Good news for sick Staten Islanders in the state's medical marijuana program: You now have two ways to get the drug, in non-smokable form, delivered to your home.
Vireo Health began delivering to New York City, Long Island and Westchester about three months ago, and beginning on Nov. 6, Columbia Care will also deliver to Staten Island.
"Columbia Care is proud to lead the way, demonstrating its commitment to providing access to all New Yorkers through continued innovation and by improving its product offerings and services," said Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care.
According to the Health Department, two other companies, Etain and PharmaCann, also deliver the drug around the state but, according to their websites, not to Staten Island.
In coming months, Staten Island will also get its own dispensary, as the Health Department is doubling the number of growing locations and dispensaries permitted in the state.
Citiva Medical will run the Staten Island dispensary, selling the product manufactured in Orange County.
The company hasn't said exactly where the Staten Island facility will be located or when it will open.
While the Compassionate Care Act went into effect in 2014, access to treatment has been limited, with only five companies initially selected to grow and dispense the plant, with four dispensaries each, for a total of 20 statewide.
Serving the state's population spread out over 54,000 square miles, it has been difficult for patients who qualify for the program to find a doctor who will prescribe it and find a location that's not too far away.
The Health Department recently announced it is doubling those numbers, with new locations expected to come online in the near future.
Proponents of the medical marijuana program, like state Sen. Diane Savino, the Senate sponsor of the program, has long called for additional locations, and praised the delivery options.
"I said that from the beginning it was one of the issues early on that was going to help patients with difficulty getting access," Savino told the Advance.
Six months after the program went into effect, Savino and others were pushing for home delivery.
While the businesses that grow and sell the plant product have been selected by the Health Department to participate in the program, they have to get an additional approval to deliver it.
Like each small expansion of the medical marijuana program, "There were a whole bunch of hurdles they had to jump through before they allowed delivery service," Savino said.
Since the creation of the highly-regulated and restrictive program, expansion has been a focus of Savino and others.
Initially only those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord, epilepsy, IBS, neuropathies and Huntington's disease were eligible for the program -- which requires a doctor's referral, registering with the state and payment for an ID card in the program.
Chronic or severe pain was added last year to the list of approved ailments, and the state Legislature voted in June to add PTSD to the list.
With few doctors initially participating in the program, nurse practitioners and physician assistants were added to certify patients for use.
According to the Health Department, as of Sept. 19, there are 30,486 certified patients and 1,231 registered practitioners participating in the program.
A significant number of those patients are those with chronic pain now eligible for treatment.
Savino has heard from patients having difficulty finding a doctor (only recently did the Health Department compile a database of doctors, and it's not complete).
She heard from people who couldn't get to a far-away dispensary and those who struggle to pay for the drug out of pocket.
With delivery available, one of those problems has been solved.
Savino is hopeful that the program will continue to expand and make it easier for patients to get access, including through delivery, however limited to a few companies now.
"I think that at some point [the organizations] probably all will offer it," she said.