What's happening
This bill expands the list of medical conditions eligible for medical marijuana use and removes THC dosing limits in New York.
Why it matters
Expanding access for more patients. By adding conditions like Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, dystonia, muscular dystrophy, wasting syndrome, PTSD, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus to the list of qualifying medical conditions, the bill enables a wider range of seriously ill New Yorkers to seek medical marijuana treatment, potentially improving quality of life for those with limited options.
Removing THC dosing caps gives doctors more flexibility. Eliminating the 10mg THC per dose limit allows practitioners to tailor dosing to individual patient needs, which could lead to more effective symptom management for those who may require higher dosages for relief.
Streamlined inclusion of new conditions. The bill removes the requirement for the health commissioner to separately consider adding specific conditions, instead directly listing them as eligible. This speeds up patient access for those conditions and reduces bureaucratic delays.
Potential for broader impact on public health and policy. These changes may influence how other states view medical marijuana restrictions, and could shift the medical community’s approach to cannabis as a treatment for a wider array of chronic and debilitating conditions.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Expand Medical Marijuana Access
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Expand Medical Marijuana Access
Assembly Floor Calendar · Sponsor Richard Gottfried
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6092
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 11, 2017
Introduced by Sen. SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to dosing limitations and medical conditions permitting the medical use of marihuana
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 15 of section 3360 of the public health law, as added by chapter 90 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
15. "Individual dose" means a single measure of raw medical marihuana or non-infused concentrates to be determined and clearly identified by a patient's practitioner for the patient's specific certified condition. [For ingestible or sub-lingual medical marihuana products, no individual dose may contain more than ten milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol.]
§ 2. Subdivision 7 of section 3360 of the public health law, as added by chapter 90 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
7. [(a)] "Serious condition" means:
(i) having one of the following severe debilitating or life-threatening conditions: cancer, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, dystonia, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, epilepsy, wasting syndrome, post traumatic stress disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, Huntington's disease, or as added by the commissioner; [and] or
(ii) any of the following conditions where it is clinically associated with, or a complication of, a condition under this paragraph or its treatment: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe or chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures; severe or persistent muscle spasms; or such conditions as are added by the commissioner.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02522-01-7
S. 6092 2
[(b) No later than eighteen months from the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall determine whether to add the following serious conditions: Alzheimer's, muscular dystrophy, dystonia, posttraumatic stress disorder and rheumatoid arthritis.]
§ 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amendments to title 5-a of article 33 of the public health law made by this act shall not affect the repeal of such title and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to dosing limitations and medical conditions permitting the medical use of marihuana
Purpose
To allow medical marihuana to be used to treat additional diseases and conditions, and to remove the limit of ten milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol per dose of medical marihuana
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1: Amends subdivision 15 of § 3360 of the Public Health Law to remove the limit of ten milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol per dose of medical marihuana.
Section 2: Amends subdivision 7 of § 3360 of the Public Health Law by adding the following to the list of diseases and conditions treatable by use of medical marihuana: Alzheimer's disease, traumatic brain injury, dystonia, muscular dystrophy, wasting syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.
Section 3: Effective date.
Justification
Expanding the list of diseases and conditions treatable by use of medical marihuana would offer critical treatment options to more patients whose lives could be improved by this medicine. Some of these conditions, such as PTSD and muscular dystrophy, are treated with medical marihuana in other states. Other conditions are subject to ongoing research - for example, in January 2016, findings from Israel were announced showing potential benefits for Alzheimer's patients.
The medical marihuana law also currently places a limit of ten milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per dose of medical marihuana. For some patients, low THC products may be appropriate; for others, higher THC may be. This decision should be made by a patient and his or her doctor.
Prior legislative history
2016 - died in Health Committee; died on Assembly 3rd Rdg.
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.