Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
It's been a year since medical marijuana hit the shelves in New York State. Under the tight regulations of the Compassionate Care Act, people with certain chronic conditions can buy pot in the form of liquids and capsules.
State health officials are slowly expanding the program. Chronic pain was recently added to the list of qualifying conditions, and nurse practitioners are now allowed to prescribe marijuana. But patients, doctors, and drug manufacturers still have a long wish list for 2017.
Patients and pot growers share a lot of the same concerns about the state's medical marijuana program. Some of the most common complaints: the prices are too high, and the state's rules are too strict.
In the North Country, there are two marijuana companies dealing with those challenges. Etain has a growing operation in Chestertown, in the southern Adirondacks. And Columbia Care is based in Rochester with a dispensary in Plattsburgh.
I went on a tour of that facility when it first opened in February 2016. The sales floor at the dispensary was bright and sterile. With the white walls and tiling, it looked like a cross between a medical office and an Apple computer store. The big, obvious difference was the marijuana décor. At every turn there was a blown-up photograph of a green or purple pot plant.
"Plattsburgh is a wonderful community. We think that the North Country is going to be a great place to serve patients and we couldn't be happier," said Nick Vita, Columbia Care's CEO.
Now, almost a year later, that dispensary is open only one day a week because there are so few patients. Columbia Care has treated about 125 people in Plattsburgh so far.
Vita said he thinks tight regulations make the state's medical pot program one of the best in the country, but those limits also make it hard for Columbia Care to reach people who could use their products.
And the regulations make it hard for patients to reach Columbia Care. For example, the 807 doctors and practitioners registered to prescribe medical marijuana aren't listed publicly by the state.
"I mean, same as you can Google a neurologist, you should be able to find a medical marijuana doctor," said Hillary Peckham, one of Etain's executives.
Some doctors have privacy concerns and don't want to be listed. State health officials say they're working on a list of practitioners who do consent to having their names published.
Meanwhile, a website called Dr. MedPot apparently jumped the gun, revealing the doctors who are registered to prescribe marijuana. According to the Albany Times Union, a couple of entrepreneurs from Saratoga Springs launched the site last month, and it became accessible to the public this week.
The entrepreneurs didn't say how they got the database, and marijuana companies say they still want the state to post an official list. Peckham says that needs to happen as soon as possible, because a lot of the patients don't have much time.
The state's marijuana program "is for the critically ill, and we do see a lot of patients who unfortunately pass away," Peckham said.
She said some of Etain's patients die while they're in treatment or before they even get their first dose.
In a report last summer, the State Department of Health said the average wait time "from practitioner certification to patient registration approval" is only about five days. But Peckham said the whole process for patients — from finding a doctor to making an appointment to getting registered with the state — can take months.
Another basic hurdle is that the companies aren't allowed to advertise.
"We need to build patient volume in order to be able to bring down prices, and make it more affordable to patients," Peckham said. "Really there's no demand. And it's not that there aren't people who don't qualify or people who don't want this, it's that people are having a really hard time accessing this."
Peckham said patients at Etain's dispensaries pay between $400 and $800 dollars a month, and that Etain is committed to making the products more affordable.
At Columbia Care in Plattsburgh, Vita said people typically pay $100 to $300 a month.
State officials say they are working to make the program more accessible.
Last month, the health department added chronic pain to the list of 10 eligible conditions. Pot companies are now allowed to deliver products to patients' homes. And later this year, state officials say five new companies will be allowed to grow and process marijuana.
The five businesses that are currently licensed oppose that last idea.
"There are so many changes that have happened in the last several months. Our view is that let's see how those changes impact some of the issues and concerns that have been voiced," Vita said.
Vita and Peckham said despite a tough first year, their companies are prepared to stick things out, and they're confident the state's program is getting better for patients who need relief.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: A Tough First Year For The North Country's Medical Marijuana Companies
Author: Zach Hirsch
Contact: 315/229-5356
Photo Credit: Zach Hirsch
Website: North Country Public Radio
State health officials are slowly expanding the program. Chronic pain was recently added to the list of qualifying conditions, and nurse practitioners are now allowed to prescribe marijuana. But patients, doctors, and drug manufacturers still have a long wish list for 2017.
Patients and pot growers share a lot of the same concerns about the state's medical marijuana program. Some of the most common complaints: the prices are too high, and the state's rules are too strict.
In the North Country, there are two marijuana companies dealing with those challenges. Etain has a growing operation in Chestertown, in the southern Adirondacks. And Columbia Care is based in Rochester with a dispensary in Plattsburgh.
I went on a tour of that facility when it first opened in February 2016. The sales floor at the dispensary was bright and sterile. With the white walls and tiling, it looked like a cross between a medical office and an Apple computer store. The big, obvious difference was the marijuana décor. At every turn there was a blown-up photograph of a green or purple pot plant.
"Plattsburgh is a wonderful community. We think that the North Country is going to be a great place to serve patients and we couldn't be happier," said Nick Vita, Columbia Care's CEO.
Now, almost a year later, that dispensary is open only one day a week because there are so few patients. Columbia Care has treated about 125 people in Plattsburgh so far.
Vita said he thinks tight regulations make the state's medical pot program one of the best in the country, but those limits also make it hard for Columbia Care to reach people who could use their products.
And the regulations make it hard for patients to reach Columbia Care. For example, the 807 doctors and practitioners registered to prescribe medical marijuana aren't listed publicly by the state.
"I mean, same as you can Google a neurologist, you should be able to find a medical marijuana doctor," said Hillary Peckham, one of Etain's executives.
Some doctors have privacy concerns and don't want to be listed. State health officials say they're working on a list of practitioners who do consent to having their names published.
Meanwhile, a website called Dr. MedPot apparently jumped the gun, revealing the doctors who are registered to prescribe marijuana. According to the Albany Times Union, a couple of entrepreneurs from Saratoga Springs launched the site last month, and it became accessible to the public this week.
The entrepreneurs didn't say how they got the database, and marijuana companies say they still want the state to post an official list. Peckham says that needs to happen as soon as possible, because a lot of the patients don't have much time.
The state's marijuana program "is for the critically ill, and we do see a lot of patients who unfortunately pass away," Peckham said.
She said some of Etain's patients die while they're in treatment or before they even get their first dose.
In a report last summer, the State Department of Health said the average wait time "from practitioner certification to patient registration approval" is only about five days. But Peckham said the whole process for patients — from finding a doctor to making an appointment to getting registered with the state — can take months.
Another basic hurdle is that the companies aren't allowed to advertise.
"We need to build patient volume in order to be able to bring down prices, and make it more affordable to patients," Peckham said. "Really there's no demand. And it's not that there aren't people who don't qualify or people who don't want this, it's that people are having a really hard time accessing this."
Peckham said patients at Etain's dispensaries pay between $400 and $800 dollars a month, and that Etain is committed to making the products more affordable.
At Columbia Care in Plattsburgh, Vita said people typically pay $100 to $300 a month.
State officials say they are working to make the program more accessible.
Last month, the health department added chronic pain to the list of 10 eligible conditions. Pot companies are now allowed to deliver products to patients' homes. And later this year, state officials say five new companies will be allowed to grow and process marijuana.
The five businesses that are currently licensed oppose that last idea.
"There are so many changes that have happened in the last several months. Our view is that let's see how those changes impact some of the issues and concerns that have been voiced," Vita said.
Vita and Peckham said despite a tough first year, their companies are prepared to stick things out, and they're confident the state's program is getting better for patients who need relief.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: A Tough First Year For The North Country's Medical Marijuana Companies
Author: Zach Hirsch
Contact: 315/229-5356
Photo Credit: Zach Hirsch
Website: North Country Public Radio
