After years of advocacy from medical cannabis patients, New York passed the Compassionate Care Act in 2014, and the state officially joined two dozen others that allowed the legal use of medical cannabis. This was a win for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who suffer from a wide variety of health challenges – including pediatric patients with significant seizure disorders - who were able to obtain relief and improve their quality of life through medical-grade cannabis.
Attention then turned to legalization of adult-use cannabis, which was achieved with the 2021 enactment of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). This made New York the 15th state to legalize adult-use cannabis. The MRTA also included long-sought improvements to the medical cannabis program, including:
Expanded qualifying conditions list
Healthcare practitioner discretion to recommend medical cannabis
Increased patient day supply
Permitted whole flower
Increase in the number of medical dispensaries statewide from 40 to 80.
Though these changes are clearly outlined in the MRTA, medical patients are still waiting for some of them to come to fruition.
Today, due to a combination of market factors and regulatory failures, New York’s medical cannabis program is in crisis. Dispensaries are closing, products are being taken off the shelves, and patients are suffering due to lack of access. It is far past time for lawmakers and regulators to improve and expand the medical program, ensuring access, equity, and affordability for patients statewide.
