Robert Celt
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New York plans to have its medical marijuana program operating in early January.
There's just one glaring omission: The state Department of Health hasn't released a list of doctors who are registered to write medical-marijuana prescriptions.
"It's a real problem," said Julie Netherland, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group. "We get calls from patients every day wanting to know how they can get a physician to help them, and in the absence of any kind of public list, there's nothing we can do to assist."
The health department on Dec. 23 launched its system for severely ill patients to enroll in its medical marijuana program, which will provide the drug in non-smokeable forms.
But first the patient need to get certified by a physician registered by New York. Then the patient can go online to enroll in the program, allowing them to buy medical marijuana when it becomes available.
The state has targeted early January for the five manufacturers to open its 20 dispensaries around New York, and the manufacturers said the drug will be available.
The five manufacturing facilities are in Queens; Rochester; Fulton County near Amsterdam; Warren County in the North Country; and Orange County in the Hudson Valley.
Dispensing sites will include locations in Yonkers and White Plains in Westchester County; one in Rochester; one in Kingston; and one in Johnson City, Broome County.
The state Health Department said in a statement that it hopes doctors will take the four-hour online course to be certified and for patients to talk to their physicians about how to gain access to the drug.
But the agency gave no indication if and when a public list of registered doctor who can prescribe medical marijuana will be released.
"The Department of Health encourages patients who have a qualifying condition and believe they may benefit from medical marijuana therapy to speak with their treating physician about whether the medical use of marijuana is appropriate for their condition," the department said.
"Once the physician is registered with the medical marijuana program and concludes that medical marijuana is clinically appropriate, he or she may issue a certification for the medical use of marijuana."
To register online, the patient would need the certification form from their doctor, photo identification, documentation of New York residency and designated caregiver information, if applicable.
For youth under age 18, the patient would have to apply through a proxy. The patients would all get certification cards so they could buy the marijuana at the dispensaries.
In the Compassionate Care Act approved in 2014, the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved a list of illnesses that can be treated with medical marijuana.
They include: cancer, HIV infection or AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury with spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy, and Huntington's disease.
Maryanne Houser, who has pushed for the legalization of medical marijuana in New York, said it's still not clear whether any of the strains being developed in New York will help her 11-year-old daughter, Amanda, who stood next to Cuomo in 2014 when he signed the bill into law.
The Suffern, Rockland County, girl suffers from a rare type of epilepsy, called Dravet syndrome, and medical marijuana could help her, Maryanne Houser said. She's expecting one of Amanda's doctors to get the registration needed to prescribe her medical marijuana.
But, she said, "I still don't know if they are going to carry anything useful for my daughter."
Health-care advocates said the state hasn't provided any details about how many physicians have registered with the state or whether the approved physicians are geographically balanced around New York.
At this point, they have to rely on word of mouth to direct patients to doctors who could prescribe the drug.
"Given the limited number of physicians who participated in required course, there will likely be access issues for patients seeking medical marijuana," Nancy Adams, executive director of the Monroe County Medical Society, told the Democrat and Chronicle.
Cuomo has raised concerns about abuse of a medical marijuana system in New York, which led to its availability only in non-smokeable forms. But concerns about misuse of prescriptions shouldn't deter the state from releasing a list of eligible doctors, Netherland said.
She said the state's program would be hard to abuse because it is among the most restrictive in the nation.
"There's a lot easier way to access cannabis if you want it than trying to go through this system," Netherland said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: No List Yet On NY Doctors Who Can Prescribe Medical Marijuana
Author: Joseph Spector
Contact: WGRZ
Photo Credit: None found
Website: WGRZ
There's just one glaring omission: The state Department of Health hasn't released a list of doctors who are registered to write medical-marijuana prescriptions.
"It's a real problem," said Julie Netherland, deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance, an advocacy group. "We get calls from patients every day wanting to know how they can get a physician to help them, and in the absence of any kind of public list, there's nothing we can do to assist."
The health department on Dec. 23 launched its system for severely ill patients to enroll in its medical marijuana program, which will provide the drug in non-smokeable forms.
But first the patient need to get certified by a physician registered by New York. Then the patient can go online to enroll in the program, allowing them to buy medical marijuana when it becomes available.
The state has targeted early January for the five manufacturers to open its 20 dispensaries around New York, and the manufacturers said the drug will be available.
The five manufacturing facilities are in Queens; Rochester; Fulton County near Amsterdam; Warren County in the North Country; and Orange County in the Hudson Valley.
Dispensing sites will include locations in Yonkers and White Plains in Westchester County; one in Rochester; one in Kingston; and one in Johnson City, Broome County.
The state Health Department said in a statement that it hopes doctors will take the four-hour online course to be certified and for patients to talk to their physicians about how to gain access to the drug.
But the agency gave no indication if and when a public list of registered doctor who can prescribe medical marijuana will be released.
"The Department of Health encourages patients who have a qualifying condition and believe they may benefit from medical marijuana therapy to speak with their treating physician about whether the medical use of marijuana is appropriate for their condition," the department said.
"Once the physician is registered with the medical marijuana program and concludes that medical marijuana is clinically appropriate, he or she may issue a certification for the medical use of marijuana."
To register online, the patient would need the certification form from their doctor, photo identification, documentation of New York residency and designated caregiver information, if applicable.
For youth under age 18, the patient would have to apply through a proxy. The patients would all get certification cards so they could buy the marijuana at the dispensaries.
In the Compassionate Care Act approved in 2014, the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo approved a list of illnesses that can be treated with medical marijuana.
They include: cancer, HIV infection or AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury with spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy, and Huntington's disease.
Maryanne Houser, who has pushed for the legalization of medical marijuana in New York, said it's still not clear whether any of the strains being developed in New York will help her 11-year-old daughter, Amanda, who stood next to Cuomo in 2014 when he signed the bill into law.
The Suffern, Rockland County, girl suffers from a rare type of epilepsy, called Dravet syndrome, and medical marijuana could help her, Maryanne Houser said. She's expecting one of Amanda's doctors to get the registration needed to prescribe her medical marijuana.
But, she said, "I still don't know if they are going to carry anything useful for my daughter."
Health-care advocates said the state hasn't provided any details about how many physicians have registered with the state or whether the approved physicians are geographically balanced around New York.
At this point, they have to rely on word of mouth to direct patients to doctors who could prescribe the drug.
"Given the limited number of physicians who participated in required course, there will likely be access issues for patients seeking medical marijuana," Nancy Adams, executive director of the Monroe County Medical Society, told the Democrat and Chronicle.
Cuomo has raised concerns about abuse of a medical marijuana system in New York, which led to its availability only in non-smokeable forms. But concerns about misuse of prescriptions shouldn't deter the state from releasing a list of eligible doctors, Netherland said.
She said the state's program would be hard to abuse because it is among the most restrictive in the nation.
"There's a lot easier way to access cannabis if you want it than trying to go through this system," Netherland said.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: No List Yet On NY Doctors Who Can Prescribe Medical Marijuana
Author: Joseph Spector
Contact: WGRZ
Photo Credit: None found
Website: WGRZ
