Medical Cannabis Eligibility In New York Just Changed, Here’s What You Should Know

New York state regulators have listened to the cries for help and finally expanded the eligibility to include more patients and specific frameworks for accessing medical cannabis in the state. 

According to New York’s Office of Cannabis Management, they said on Monday that it would utilize a new medical marijuana certification and registration system that’s far easier to use than the previous method. This system also broadens eligibility criteria to allow new patients into the medical marijuana market. 

Doctors and practitioners are being asked to use their best judgment when certifying people as eligible for medical marijuana. The new eligibility criteria are a tad more expanded and inclusive than the list before. Now, instead of issuing medicine to those with one or more qualifying medical conditions, practitioners are asked to prescribe marijuana to anyone who they think would benefit from it.

Last year, the Marijuana Regulations and Taxation Act (MRTA) went into effect. The medical marijuana program in New York was no longer regulated by the state Department of Health but the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). Additionally, according to High Times, when the MRTA passed, it legalized the recreational use of cannabis and helped establish a framework of adult-use sales.

Since the OCM controls the medical cannabis program, patients should expect to receive their certification for registration through this office, no longer through the Department of Health. That said, documents of patients who’ve previously registered with the Department of Health are still valid and won’t have to be renewed until their individual expiration date.

In other news, the OCM has been implementing new changes and regulations over the past couple of years to bring modern medicine to New Yorkers in need. This included selling cannabis flower and permanently waiving registration fees. They also widened who can prescribe medical cannabis to patients, which can now be any practitioners licensed to prescribe controlled substances in New York, like dentists and midwives. 

While also allowing institutions to prescribe medical marijuana like hospitals, residential facilities, and schools, the OCM made even further changes that doubled the amount of cannabis that could be distributed at one time, moving from a 30-day supply to a 60-day supply. 

Lastly, the Cannabis Control Board is looking into allowing medical patients to grow cannabis from their homes in response to the public’s interest in homegrown medicine. As of now, the board is assessing all views and comments about growing medicine in homes and hopes to share positive news in the future.