Governor signs expedited access legislation

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill on Nov. 11 that will expedite access to medical marijuana for critically ill patients. The law compels the state must issue patient cards to qualified, critically ill patients as soon as possible, making it clear that they are medical marijuana patients and affording them some protection from law enforcement and child protective services.

Advocates of medical marijuana pushed Gov. Cuomo to sign the bill that would create expedited access to the treatment that was originally approved by the State Legislature in June 2014 and signed into law by Cuomo a month later. The Legislature passed the expedited law in June.

To press their case, proponents of the legislation rallied outside of the governor’s Manhattan on Third Avenue Tuesday.

Atlantic Beach resident Missy Miller has been at the forefront of the campaign to first legalize medical marijuana in the state and is now lobbying for Cuomo to sign the bill that would create emergency access to the treatment.
Miller is the mother of Oliver Miller, 15, a special-needs Lawrence High School student, who suffers from hundreds of daily seizures due to having suffered a pre-birth stroke. Missy thinks that the use of a medically prescribed oil form of marijuana with a low concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC — the compound that gives users a high — would substantially reduce the frequency and severity of the seizures.

“The problem with this [the program becoming operational in January] is that most people don’t understand that this program will not be any where even close to fully operational by January,” said Missy, who believes that Cuomo will veto the bill since the program is expected to get underway after the new year. “Some of the selected producer don’t even have seeds planted yet.”
In addition, the dispensary sites are being challenged, there has not been any information provided by the state’s Department of Health (DOH) about patient registration cards and not one of the medical marijuana produces chosen by the state has produced the oil form of marijuana.
“While we have been in regular communication with the DOH, we still have not gotten any concrete dates about when patients will be able to register for their certification cards,” said Paige Kumm, a spokeswoman for Compassionate Care New York (CCNY), a statewide grassroots advocacy organization made up of patients, caretakers and healthcare providers.
The DOH began accepting registration applications on April 27. Each applicant was required to submit two fees: a nonrefundable application fee of $10,000 and a registration fee of $200,000 that is refunded if the applicant is not issued a registration.
Kumm said the group’s primary goal is to increase awareness about medical marijuana by having patients share stories and reduce the stigma attached to medicinal marijuana. Instrumental in getting the state’s Compassionate Care Act passed, the law that permitted the use of medical marijuana, CCNY, continues its advocacy by speaking with elected officials about the issue.
“We have been asking the Cuomo administration to create an emergency access system for more than a year, and they have yet to help even one critically ill patient get access,” Kumm said. “Four children affiliated with our coalition have passed away since the Compassionate Care Act became law.”
Kumm believes that Cuomo needs to feel pressure to sign the expedited access bill and that was the reason behind Tuesday’s rally. The governor’s office remained mum on the subject as they did not respond for comment by press time.