On May 27, lawmakers sent a letter to Gov. Cuomo urging immediate action on implementing the changes approved for the medical cannabis program.
Three high-profile legislators declared their expectations regarding the updates for the medical cannabis program. They said that regarding the spring-approved changes, the Department of Health should implement them with urgency.
In March, lawmakers passed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act. It not only legalized recreational cannabis but also updated the existing medical program. The Act added several new eligible conditions to the program. It also made a change for the doctor-patient relationship. By leaving the decision to prescribe marijuana products for any reason, including conditions like anxiety or insomnia, to a practitioner.
The law, known as MRTA, had many provisions that went into effect immediately. One provision was legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In addition to authorizing medical dispensaries to sell the whole cannabis flower.
The Department of Health previously held that all updates should wait until the state forms a new regulatory body, the Office of Cannabis Management.
Implementation Delays Continue
The delayed implementation continues to confuse many practitioners. Originally they thought they could begin prescribing marijuana remedies for several additional medical conditions.
The letter’s authors, state senators Diane Savino and Liz Krueger, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, emphasized several “minimum” changes. They said they would “immediately strengthen and expand the medical cannabis program, improve patient access, and, perhaps most importantly, enable dispensaries to offer a more affordable product.”
In the letter, they pointed out several new regulations that could be implemented now. For example, they highlighted rules allowing patients to purchase a 60-day supply of medications instead of the current 30-day cap. They further discussed rules allowing medical experts more clinical discretion over which conditions qualify patients for medical cannabis certification. They also pointed out that the state could allow the sale of smokable whole cannabis flower.
In response to the letter, Jill Montag, a Department of Health spokeswoman, said the department is working to implement the updates lawmakers identified.
“The changes to the program outlined in the MRTA require a series of regulatory and administrative changes, including updates to product testing and sampling procedures as well as the program’s patient certification and inventory management systems,” said Montag.
Anticipation for the Changes
The current medical cannabis providers, including Columbia Care, have been looking forward to these changes for a while.
“New York has long been considered one of the more restrictive programs, and so these are a few elements that make it less restrictive,” said Stephen Dahmer, chief medical officer for Vireo Health.
While medical cannabis companies did not expect the changes to take effect overnight, some patients are surprised at the delay.
“You do see a lot of frustration from patients, you have a lot of people that call, and they’re asking, ‘has anything changed?’” said Kevin Harbison, pharmacist and manager of clinical services for PharmaCann.
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