After delays, Delaware’s second medical marijuana dispensary opens

 FSCC president Mark Lally gives a tour of the Lewes dispensary in March. (Mark Eichmann/WHYY)

FSCC president Mark Lally gives a tour of the Lewes dispensary in March. (Mark Eichmann/WHYY)

First State Compassion Center is now open for business in Lewes.

Starting today, medical marijuana patients in southern Delaware will be able to get their cannabis at the new dispensary at 12000 Old Vine Blvd. in the Vineyards, a mixed use development off Rt. 9 in Lewes. Dispensary operators had hoped to open its doors at the start of April. They offered members of the media a behind the scenes look inside the facility in late March in anticipation of that April opening.

But after delays with construction and permits, the facility remained closed until today.

“Our foremost goal is the care we take of our patients,” said FSCC President Mark Lally, a former Delaware state trooper. “We built our new space focusing on the patient experience, aiming to create a modern, comfortable fell and an environment that enhances patients’ comfort while they safely explore products for their care.”

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The 4,000 sq. ft. dispensary most closely resembles a bank branch. It features a long counter with multiple stations for employees, called “patient advisors,” to work with patients to get them the marijuana of their choice.

“According to Delaware law, a person is allowed to purchase three ounces in a 14 day period, and possess no more than 6 ounces in a 28 day period,” Lally said.

There is no marijuana grown at the Lewes facility. All FSCC’s growing operation is housed at its New Castle County site near Wilmington. Unlike the Wilmington site, the Lewes dispensary is adjacent to condos and other businesses in the Vineyards complex.

Despite the close proximity to nearby residents, Lally doesn’t expect problems with FSCC’s neighbors. “I think people are starting to understand just from the fact that we did open Delaware’s first dispensary in New Castle County and had virtually no problems whatsoever,” Lally said. “People started realizing that this is not the evil thing, that marijuana is not the evil product that everybody thought that it was and has been taught that it is.”

The Lewes facility will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

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