State Health Department officials have announced that New York patients who suffer from chronic pain will now be able to get some marijuana medication.
Although the criteria for determining chronic pain is yet to be determined, the department said that it is working on regulations that will permit doctors to prescribe medical cannabis to chronic pain patients.
According to state Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, thousands of New Yorkers are already benefiting from medical marijuana and this new project will further help more people who have been suffering from chronic pain.
The state law that legalized the use of non-smokeable medical pot for different illnesses was effected back in January. The health department stated that it is working on a proposed regulatory amendment to the law.
The agency said that the amendment will soon be published for public comment. The policy should be ready for implementation by early next year.
New York gives room for 10 conditions in which cannabis can be used for medical purposes, they include: Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, HIV infection or AIDS, neuropathies, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease and spinal damage.
The state has been receiving criticism from advocates and patients for its stringent laws against marijuana but this move is the latest loosening of the medical marijuana law.
In November, nursing practitioners were allowed to prescribe the substance and it is expected that physician assistants are next in line.
Medical practitioners have to go through an online course in order to prescribe medical marijuana. On the other hand, the patients will need to get consent from their doctor and enroll online.
Marijuana in the state is sold and grown by five companies; each of these companies comes with four dispensaries.
According to the health department, 10,730 patients have been certified by their doctors and around 750 physicians have registered to prescribe medical marijuana.
The future plans for New York include: publicizing the list of doctors who can prescribe marijuana as well as increasing the number of companies that are allowed to grow and sell cannabis to be used for medical reasons.
