Delaware appears to be the next to join the ranks of states to offer delivery services to medical marijuana patients in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Delaware chapter of NORML trumpeted the news on Friday, saying that state “officials, lawmakers and compassion center owners are working together to quickly roll out delivery options for cannabis patients.”
The medical cannabis provider Columbia Care confirmed its role in the policy change, announcing on its website that it is “proud to be the first medical marijuana company in Delaware to deliver products to patients and designated caregivers who meet pre-qualifying conditions for home delivery.”
In order to qualify for delivery, Columbia Care said patients must be a Delaware “medical marijuana card holder, have previously registered with our staff, and live within a 30 mile radius of a selected dispensary.”
The company said it is adhering to “recommendations offered by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well as state and local governments to protect our communities and to help limit the spread of the virus.”
According to NORML, Columbia Care will offer the service “hopefully in the coming weeks.”
States’ Responses to the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has forced a number of states and cities to reconsider laws against marijuana delivery in order to slow the spread of the deadly virus. Sonya Harper, a Democratic state House representative from Chicago, called on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker to enact a bill she introduced earlier this year that would open the door for both medical and recreational cannabis customers to receive their products via delivery. “I would be happy to see if the governor maybe could make a special executive order allowing that, or us being able to get that legislation through maybe quicker than normal this year to provide for that,” said Harper.
Illinois, along with a number of other states and cities, has already changed its laws to allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the state to conduct curbside sales in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines.
