The new law would allow dispensaries to relocate and to change management.
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The campaign comes about five months after state lawmakers approved a narrow bill that would allow Texans suffering from seizures to access a marijuana extract containing cannabidiol. “This is for patients and for our use that are patients”, said one lady in favor of medical marijuana. Vireo Health of NY (formerly Empire State Health Solutions), which is setting up its production facility in Fulton County, has a sister company in Minnesota that provides medical marijuana under that state’s program.
In approval messages for the emergency access bills, Cuomo said he directed the state Department of Health to review whether there are enough manufacturers and dispensaries for patients to gain access to the drug.
Last year, the state Legislature approved a plan to have five companies manufacture marijuana that would be dispensed at 20 outlets across the state.
“Without those types of regulations in place, as of March 1, if someone goes to the state and says ‘we wish to set up a marijuana cultivation operation within the city of Guadalupe, ‘ and we don’t have an ordinance in place, they could go ahead and do that just with a state license”, City Attorney Dave Fleishman told the council.
The emergency access bill is separate from the original medical marijuana program, that’s set to begin in January. Thanks to their work and sharing their personal stories, this legislation and the Compassionate Care Act became law.
“In an ideal world, the bill may never have to be used but in human affairs, problems arise”, Gottfried said.
Less than two weeks after Cuomo signed the law, Conte’s daughter 9-year-old Anna passed away.
Preference will be given to organizations already registered by the state Department of Health or applicants that are dispensing or producing medical marijuana in other states.
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Perhaps with that in mind, in his memo Wednesday, Cuomo directed the Department of Health to establish the emergency program so it’s compliant with the 2013 U.S. Department of Justice guidelines on marijuana enforcement, which urged prosecutorial discretion. Anna had a severe form of epilepsy. “But we’ve been asking for [Cuomo’s] administration to create a few kind of emergency access for the critically ill since July of 2014”. To date, they have failed to help even one patient get the medicine they need. “Frankly, further delays are unconscionable”.
