Syracuse, N.Y. — New York is poised to loosen restrictions on its medical marijuana program by letting patients smoke the drug, grow it at home and use it to treat any condition.
Those changes are part of a new law signed March 31 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that legalizes recreational use of marijuana by adults and expands the state’s 5-year-old medical marijuana program.
Recreational marijuana will not be available until state officials finish drawing up regulations, a process that could take 12 to 18 months. But some of the changes affecting medical marijuana could happen sooner. The law says state rules for growing medical marijuana plants at home must be in place within six months.
The expansion is expected to lower the high cost of medical marijuana. Insurers do not cover medical marijuana because federal law still classifies it as an illegal schedule 1 drug, no different than heroin or LSD. That means patients must pay for medical marijuana out of pocket.
Dr. Scott Treatman, of Syracuse, has more than 500 medical marijuana patients in New York. He also practices in Florida. He said his New York patients typically spend $200 to $400 a month on medical marijuana, about double what his medical marijuana patients spend in Florida.
“It’s conceivable the prices will come down in New York as the market opens up and there’s more competition,” Treatman said.
Paul Armentaro, deputy director of NORML, a national nonprofit group that advocates for marijuana legalization, agrees.
“Prices have come down over time in markets that are more mature and where there is greater access,” Armentaro said.
After legalizing recreational marijuana, some states have seen patients leave medical marijuana programs if they can save money buying recreational pot.
That’s not likely to happen in New York because recreational marijuana will be taxed at a higher rate than medical marijuana, said Gretchen Schmidt, a lawyer and cannabis expert who teaches at Excelsior College in Albany.
Recreational marijuana will be subject to a 13% tax — 9% will go to the state and 4% to local governments. There also will be an excise tax on recreational marijuana of up to 3 cents per milligram of THC, a chemical that causes most of marijuana’s mood-altering effects.
The tax on medical marijuana will remain at 7%.
The changes are a dramatic about-face for New York’s highly restrictive medical marijuana program launched in 2016. The program began with just five companies allowed to grow and distribute medical marijuana. The number of companies has since grown to 10. The new law says those 10 companies will get first crack at applying for recreational marijuana licenses.
The state has only allowed marijuana in forms such as pills and liquids taken by mouth or vaporized. Smokable marijuana was forbidden. Medical marijuana was reserved for the sickest patients with a narrow list of conditions including cancer, HIV/AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Registered patients could not get more than a 30-day supply.
New York’s ban on smoking never made sense, according to Armentaro.
“We want patients to feel the effect of cannabis immediately,” he said. “That comes from inhalation, not from consuming it orally.”
Treatman said about half of his medical marijuana patients in Florida prefer to smoke it.
The new law will allow patients in New York to use flower, or bud, the part of the marijuana plant that is often ground up and smoked.
Recreational users will probably want strains of marijuana with higher levels of THC that have mood-altering effects, Armentaro said. Medical marijuana patients are more likely to want strains with lower levels of THC for therapeutic purposes, he said.
The new law also will let patients get 60-day supplies from dispensaries.
People in New York must be certified by doctors, nurse practitioners or physician assistants to get medical marijuana.
New York’s list of medical conditions eligible for medical marijuana has expanded over the years to include chronic pain and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
The new law further expands the list by adding autism, Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy, rheumatoid arthritis and “any other condition certified by the practitioner.”
The law says:
“Practitioners will be able to certify a patient for the medical program for any condition, if based on their professional opinion and review of past medical treatments, the practitioner believes medical cannabis would be a beneficial treatment for that patient.”
James T. Mulder covers health and higher education. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com