Syracuse's First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Set to Open

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Syracuse's first medical marijuana dispensary is set to open this week. Etain LLC will open for registered patients Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. But, the dispensary is holding an open house Tuesday at its new facility on Erie Boulevard.  Brad Vivacqua is outside of the facility and has details on this.

EAST SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The opening of Etain LLC in Syracuse is certainly something that some folks that qualify for medical marijuana have certainly been waiting for. New York state dispensaries began to open last month, but this is the first to open in the Syracuse area.

Beginning Wednesday, Etain will make the pills available for people facing one of about ten diseases. Those include cancer, HIV and AIDS, ALS, Parkinson's and Multiple Sclerosis among others.

People must obtain a patient identification card, and a licensed physician with certification must prescribe the treatment.

Officials with the non-profit Multiple Sclerosis Resources in East Syracuse say they applaud the opening of the dispensaries, but more certified doctors and specialists are needed to issue the drug.  Without the doctors -- patients won't be able to get the help they need.

"We worked so hard to get the legislation passed.  These folks are ready.  They're suffering, as are other patients with cancer, HIV and AIDS as well as the other conditions that are covered.  So, it's very difficult to imagine, being them, advocating for this, getting the legislation passed, and then you get a door slammed in your face because we can't the neurologists," said Multiple Sclerosis Resources Associate Director Annette Simiele.

Simiele says MS Resources has fielded hundreds of calls about medical marijuana.

As for this dispensary, the open house will take place at 11 a.m. It is one of three locations scheduled to open in Onondaga County.  Two dispensaries are set to open in Salina in the coming weeks.

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