Legislators Welcome Cuomo Initiative on Medical Marijuana; Call for New Comprehensive Law

Statement by Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried and Senator Diane Savino:

"We welcome Governor Cuomo's endorsement of the medical value of cannabis for many seriously ill patients. It gives dramatic new strength to the issue. However, the 1980 Olivieri law that he is using has serious limitations. Patients tell us that a great many of them will be left out.

We call on the administration to work with the Legislature to enact new comprehensive tightly regulated medical marijuana legislation this session in Albany.

Science is well beyond where we were in 1980. In other states, tightly-regulated cannabis producers are able to produce strains of cannabis with different strengths and compositions to reflect patient conditions and needs. There are many patients who could benefit from medical marijuana who cannot be helped under the 1980 law, such as children with severe epilepsy. Using marijuana seized by the police, as the 1980 law does, raises serious concerns.

The Compassionate Care Act (A.6357, Gottfried/S.4406, Savino) incorporates lessons learned and best practices from 20 other states. It would give New York a comprehensive and well-working system. It would set up a tightly regulated and controlled medical marijuana system. Practitioners licensed to prescribe controlled substances could certify patient need, and certified patients would register with the Health Department. Both the certification process and dispensing of medical marijuana would be included in the I-STOP prescription monitoring system for controlled substances enacted in 2012. The Health Department would license and regulate entities to produce and dispense medical marijuana for certified patients. They would be required to comply with detailed "seed to sale" security controls and regulations. A clinical advisory committee made up predominately of health care professionals would advise the Health Commissioner on clinical matters."