Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday signed the Compassionate Care Act into law, officially making New York the 23rd state to legalize medical marijuana.
“This legislation I am signing today strikes the right balance between our desire to give those suffering from serious diseases access to treatment, and our obligation to guard against threats to public health and safety,” Cuomo said in a statement following a news conference at the New York Academy of Medicine.
The law prohibits users from smoking the drug and gives Cuomo the power to suspend or terminate the program if it is abused. It also sets a 7 percent tax on medical marijuana sales.
The law is slated to go into effect in the next 18 months, as a registry with the state Department of Health is established to enable physicians to prescribe marijuana and patients to become eligible for it.
Patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy and Huntington’s disease would be eligible for the program, and insurance providers, Medicare and Medicaid would not have to cover prescriptions for marijuana.
“Today we take the historic step of offering a new level of patient care to the citizens of New York State. Under one of the safest, most tightly-regulated medical marijuana programs in the country, we will bring much needed relief and effective treatment to thousands of desperate patients suffering across this state each day,” said Senate co-leader Jeffrey Klein (D-Bronx). “This is a common-sense, patient-centric program that will continue to stay on the cutting-edge of care to ensure the best possible treatment for New Yorkers in need for years to come.”
The state Assembly approved the legislation in late June, and Cuomo waived the typical three-day waiting period so the Senate could vote on the bill prior to the end of the Legislative session. After a marathon Senate work session, during which restrictions on the sale of medical marijuana were strengthened, the bill was approved in a 49-10 vote.
Under the legislation, patients would be issued registry identification cards that would also prevent them from possessing more than a 30-day supply of medical marijuana.
The law also sets a Class E felony to physicians who prescribe medical marijuana to patients who do not meet the state’s requirements, as well as a misdemeanor for anyone caught selling or trading medical marijuana.
“The Assembly majority has been passing the Compassionate Care Act for many years, and now thanks to Gov. Cuomo’s leadership, we finally have a law that will deliver much-needed relief to patients in New York,” Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said. “Our goal now will be to get this program up and running swiftly, safely and efficiently so that they can get the treatment they need.”
