Cuomo, Senate pass marijuana bill
NEW YORK – In a hotly contested eleventh hour compromise, Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders agreed to legalize certain forms of marijuana for patients with a limited range of diseases on Thursday, putting a lackluster finish on the nearly two decades old wrestling match.
As of Wednesday night, in typical fashion, Cuomo rejected certain language and omissions in a proposed bill sponsored by Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat, who have advocated for medical marijuana legalization for nearly 20 years.
After days of intense negotiations amid the looming end of the 2014 legislative session, the medical pot bill was truncated beyond what many lawmakers wanted, after Cuomo vehemently warned that he would sign it only with the inclusion of certain strict requirements.
The passage of the Compassionate Care Act has made New York only the 23rd state to have medical marijuana laws on the books. The bill, which has been introduced every session since 1997, will be the most tightly regulated system in the country, due to Cuomo's restrictive jargon contained within.
This means that for New York, the most common form of medical marijuana administration – smoking – will remain illegal, a measure only second to the State of Minnesota, making the effort much narrower in scope than many other medical-marijuana laws around the country.
Another stipulation of the bill allows the governor, upon recommendation by the state police superintendent or health commissioner, to suspend the program at any time.
Furthermore, the bill would also automatically expire after seven years, at which time the legislature and governor could reauthorize the program.
The bill parallels laws in other states in that it can only be prescribed by a Medical Doctor. The big difference is that it only may be prescribed in certain forms of oil-based and vapor forms.
"Medical marijuana has the capacity to do a lot of good for a lot of people who are in pain and suffering," Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference after the passage was made official late Thursday. "At the same time, it's a difficult issue, because there are also risks that have to be averted – public-health, public-safety risks. And we believe this bill strikes the right balance."
The Bill would permit only doctors to prescribe marijuana oil-based and vapor products to individuals with any of about a half-dozen conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication on intractable spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, Huntington’s Disease, or as added by the commissioner by DOH.
“To ensure medical marijuana is available only to patients with serious conditions who can most benefit from the treatment, the legislation establishes a certification and registry process for physicians to administer the drug,” states Cuomo's website.
Cuomo indicated that he wanted to curb marijuana's potential to become a "gateway" drug, a worry shared by some Republicans — including the GOP leader in the Senate, Dean Skelos — who provided crucial votes need for the Bill's success.
To help ensure that medical marijuana is in the hands of only individuals in need and their health care provider, Registry Identification Cards will be issued by DOH to verified patients. The DOH would be able to suspend or revoke the card of a patient who willfully violates any provision of the new law.
The red-tape program includes other limitations –– Physicians must get training before prescribing the drug, and patients must be certified by licensed practitioners. Dispensaries could get registrations 18 months after the bill's passage.
Thursday, medical-marijuana advocates said they were disappointed by the restrictions placed on the program. "This is not the bill we wanted," said Gabriel Sayegh, director of the New York state office of the Drug Policy Alliance. "The method [of intake] should be decided between a patient and a doctor, what method is correct for a patient," said Keith Seymour, a member of advocacy organization Compassionate Care NY, who was at the Capitol Thursday.
Either way, in the end the bill aims to do more good than harm, and many advocates see the approval as a first step to long term compromise.
As of Wednesday night, in typical fashion, Cuomo rejected certain language and omissions in a proposed bill sponsored by Sen. Diane Savino, a Staten Island Democrat, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat, who have advocated for medical marijuana legalization for nearly 20 years.
After days of intense negotiations amid the looming end of the 2014 legislative session, the medical pot bill was truncated beyond what many lawmakers wanted, after Cuomo vehemently warned that he would sign it only with the inclusion of certain strict requirements.
The passage of the Compassionate Care Act has made New York only the 23rd state to have medical marijuana laws on the books. The bill, which has been introduced every session since 1997, will be the most tightly regulated system in the country, due to Cuomo's restrictive jargon contained within.
This means that for New York, the most common form of medical marijuana administration – smoking – will remain illegal, a measure only second to the State of Minnesota, making the effort much narrower in scope than many other medical-marijuana laws around the country.
Another stipulation of the bill allows the governor, upon recommendation by the state police superintendent or health commissioner, to suspend the program at any time.
Furthermore, the bill would also automatically expire after seven years, at which time the legislature and governor could reauthorize the program.
The bill parallels laws in other states in that it can only be prescribed by a Medical Doctor. The big difference is that it only may be prescribed in certain forms of oil-based and vapor forms.
"Medical marijuana has the capacity to do a lot of good for a lot of people who are in pain and suffering," Mr. Cuomo said at a news conference after the passage was made official late Thursday. "At the same time, it's a difficult issue, because there are also risks that have to be averted – public-health, public-safety risks. And we believe this bill strikes the right balance."
The Bill would permit only doctors to prescribe marijuana oil-based and vapor products to individuals with any of about a half-dozen conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication on intractable spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, Huntington’s Disease, or as added by the commissioner by DOH.
“To ensure medical marijuana is available only to patients with serious conditions who can most benefit from the treatment, the legislation establishes a certification and registry process for physicians to administer the drug,” states Cuomo's website.
Cuomo indicated that he wanted to curb marijuana's potential to become a "gateway" drug, a worry shared by some Republicans — including the GOP leader in the Senate, Dean Skelos — who provided crucial votes need for the Bill's success.
To help ensure that medical marijuana is in the hands of only individuals in need and their health care provider, Registry Identification Cards will be issued by DOH to verified patients. The DOH would be able to suspend or revoke the card of a patient who willfully violates any provision of the new law.
The red-tape program includes other limitations –– Physicians must get training before prescribing the drug, and patients must be certified by licensed practitioners. Dispensaries could get registrations 18 months after the bill's passage.
Thursday, medical-marijuana advocates said they were disappointed by the restrictions placed on the program. "This is not the bill we wanted," said Gabriel Sayegh, director of the New York state office of the Drug Policy Alliance. "The method [of intake] should be decided between a patient and a doctor, what method is correct for a patient," said Keith Seymour, a member of advocacy organization Compassionate Care NY, who was at the Capitol Thursday.
Either way, in the end the bill aims to do more good than harm, and many advocates see the approval as a first step to long term compromise.
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