NY Medical Marijuana Program Launches Thursday

The state’s Medical Marijuana Program will launch on Jan. 7 as scheduled, New York health officials announced.

The program will make approved forms of medical marijuana, which has been shown to help alleviate pain and enhance the quality of life for individuals suffering from certain diseases, available with a physician’s certification at designated dispensaries across New York State.

The program provides access to medical marijuana to certified patients suffering from cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, intractable spasticity caused by damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies and Huntington’s disease.

Eight dispensing facilities will open for business on Jan. 7 in Onondaga, Erie, Albany, Ulster and Westchester Counties, and in Manhattan. Locations of the dispensing facilities can be found on the DOH website.

Etain LLC, founded by a Katonah resident, will be dispensing in Albany and Kingston. Vireo Health of New York will be dispensing in White Plains. Both have additional locations opening soon.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Care Act 18 months ago.

“Governor Cuomo gave us an extremely ambitious timeline to get the Medical MarijuanaProgram up and running, and I am pleased that we have met his goals,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a prepared statement. “Our program ensures the availability of pharmaceutical-grade medical marijuana products for certified patients and establishes strict regulatory controls to protect public health and safety.”

Patients who may qualify for the program are strongly encouraged to talk to their doctors about whether medical marijuana can benefit them. Nearly 150 doctors from across the State have already registered for the program and can certify their patients, if clinically appropriate for their qualifying condition consistent with the DOH’s guidance and regulations.

• In order to obtain medical marijuana, a patient must receive a DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification from a registered physician. The patient must then access DOH’s online Patient Registration System to apply for a registry identification card. Additional information regarding registration can be found here.
• To apply for a registry card, certified patients will need: a valid DOH Medical Marijuana Program certification form issued and signed by a registered practitioner, photographic identification, documentation of his or her temporary or permanent New York State residency, and designated caregiver information, if applicable. A patient who is under the age of eighteen or who is otherwise incapable of consenting must apply through a proxy.
• Patients with valid registry identification cards are then eligible to purchase medical marijuana from one of the dispensing locations across the State. DOH selected five Registered Organizations on July 31, 2015 to grow marijuana and manufacture it into approved forms. Each Registered Organization operates a manufacturing facility and four dispensing facilities.

The Registered Organizations have been working aggressively over the past several months in collaboration with the DOH to make approved medicalmarijuana products available to patients. Information on the Registered Organizations can be found here.

Eight dispensing facilities will open for business on January 7 in Onondaga, Erie, Albany, Ulster and Westchester Counties, and in Manhattan. Locations of the dispensing facilities can be found on the DOH website.

The additional dispensing sites will open on a rolling basis in locations across the State throughout the month. DOH has also requested that each Registered Organization develop a delivery option to ensure full access to patients who are unable to travel to a dispensary location due to their medicalcondition, or if their designated caregivers cannot obtain it for them. Registered Organizations will be able to provide information on pricing, including reduced pricing options, on January 7.

More information on New York’s Medical Marijuana program can be found here.