Curaleaf's plans to allow home delivery payments through the CanPay app, a debit payment service

Company officials didn't have an exact start date for home deliveries in New York

Medical marijuana home delivery services are expanding across the Lower Hudson Valley as companies compete for the a chunk of New York's growing pool of thousands of patients.

In the coming weeks, the Curaleaf dispensary in Newburgh, Orange County, plans to start delivering cannabis-based drugs to front doors in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Ulster, company officials said.

The new service joins Vireo Health's existing home delivery offered in some of the same communities, including Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. That company has a dispensary in downtown White Plains.

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After years of struggling to reach patients, medical marijuana companies are racing to tap into markets like Rockland County, which is among several counties without a brick-and-mortar dispensary site.

One of the critical developments has been the addition of illness eligible for medical marijuana, such as chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder and any condition for which an opioid could be prescribed.

There are about 77,600 patients currently certified to buy medical marijuana in New York, a major spike from the 1,200 in the program's early months after being launched in January 2016.

The medical marijuana reforms in Albany came amid heavy political lobbying targeting Gov. Andrew Cuomo, state legislators and the Department of Health.

Further, the ongoing review of legalizing recreational marijuana in New York has raised the stakes for cannabis industry expansion efforts here, such as Citiva Medical and its grow facility being built in Orange County.

How to order medical marijuana

Curaleaf's plans to allow home delivery payments through the CanPay app, a debit payment service that allows cannabis patients to pay for purchases straight from a checking account, company officials said.

Patients with a valid driver’s license, checking account and working email address can create an account on the CanPay app or website.

“Curaleaf is committed to expanding access to this critical treatment option that has already improved the quality of life for thousands of New Yorkers,” said Michelle Bodner, CEO of Curaleaf New York.

Company officials didn't have an exact start date for home deliveries in New York, one of 12 states where Curaleaf's namesake conglomerate operates cannabis businesses.

The digital payment service being used in New York underscored the cannabis industry's limited access to traditional banking because marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Marijuana advocates are pushing Congress to drop pot as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, which could give the industry broader acceptance, potentially opening up access to bank accounts, traditional investing and even the ability to ship products across state lines, USA TODAY reported.

Vireo Health's home delivery service launched last year, beginning in New York City, Westchester and Long Island before expanding into Rockland and other communities.

Much of the pricing and product details are available through Vireo and Curaleaf's respective websites. That's because state and federal laws restrictions on cannabis-related business have limited their ability to market and advertise to consumers. Vireo Health, for example, battled Google over its policies blocking digital advertising.

The cost for vaporizers, oils, capsules and other non-smokeable drugs varies depending on factors such as brand, delivery method and potency.

The prices ranged from about $50 to $265 on Curaleaf's website and varied between about $86 and $299 on Vireo Health's online list.