Columbia Care’s first New York State medical marijuana dispensary opens in Manhattan’s Union Square

Columbia Care LLC, one of the nation’s leading medical marijuana companies, announced today that its first dispensary in New York State, located at 212 East 14^th Street in Manhattan’s Union Square, will open to qualifying patients on Thursday, January 7, 2016. As one of five companies licensed as a Registered Organization by the New York State Department of Health, Columbia Care will open three additional dispensaries throughout New York State later this month. New York’s Compassionate Care Act was enacted to provide access to medical marijuana products to patients who are suffering from a number of debilitating and, in many cases, terminal qualifying conditions. The Company’s Plattsburgh and Rochester locations are scheduled to open in mid-January and the Riverhead location is expected to open in late January.

“Launching New York’s program in the heart of Manhattan brings us one step closer to achieving our mission of providing compassionate, consistent and professional care to patients across the country,” said Columbia Care CEO Nicholas Vita. “We are honored and grateful that the State selected us to be an inaugural member of the program and we look forward to serving patients in New York.”

With the addition of New York, Columbia Care has been selected and approved to operate in six highly regulated, medically-focused jurisdictions across the United States, placing it among the country’s leading medical marijuana companies. The New York City location expands Columbia Care’s footprint in the nation’s largest cities including Phoenix-metro, Chicago and Washington, D.C. Next month, Columbia Care’s Massachusetts subsidiary, Patriot Care, will begin serving patients – adding Boston, Lowell and, eventually, Greenfield to its expanding list of over 20 state-licensed locations nationwide.

Consistent with its national model, Columbia Care designed its dispensaries with patient comfort in mind. All of Columbia Care’s facilities in New York will be staffed by passionate team members, led by state-licensed pharmacists trained to provide the highest level of professionalism and respect for patients and their conditions. In close proximity to several leading medical centers and clinics, the Manhattan location is accessible by every subway line in New York City and will operate utilizing industry-leading security measures implemented by professionals with law enforcement backgrounds. To access the facilities, patients must first be made eligible by a certified physician and then register with New York State. Registered patients may schedule appointments at any of Columbia Care’s facilities in New York by either logging on to our website at www.col-careny.com or calling us at 1-800-764-8162.

Columbia Care’s New York dispensaries will provide patients with a variety of formulations packaged initially as sub-lingual tinctures, concentrate for vaporization or orally ingested capsules. Smoking and infused edible products are prohibited under New York’s Compassionate Care Act and will not be available. All products offered to patients in Columbia Care’s New York dispensaries are cultivated in Rochester at the Eastman Kodak Business Park in highly controlled micro-climates. To meet the Company’s industry-leading quality standards, once the organic cultivation process is completed, targeted compounds are scientifically separated and formulated into a Columbia Care final product. All products undergo independent batch testing to assure the highest levels of consistency in every dose.

Columbia Care LLC