Medical cannabis patients in New York could soon have access to a wider variety of products, including topicals, chewable tablets and lozenges, under regulations proposed by the state Department of Health. However, smokeable products are still banned.
Additionally, the new rules would permit non-patients to enter a facility in order to get information on the program, so long as they are accompanied by a registered patient, and allow medical practitioners to take a shortened two-hour program training course.
“This is yet another positive step forward for New York State’s Medical Marijuana Program,” said New York State Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker in a statement. “These regulations will continue to improve the program in several ways, including making new forms of medical marijuana available and improving the dispensing facility experience.”
In late March the state added chronic pain to its qualifying condition list and, since then, patient counts have grown 77 percent. As of Aug. 9 there are 26,561 enrolled patients and 1,155 registered practitioners.
Last week, the department licensed five new companies to cultivate and dispense medical cannabis in the state. The new producers include Fiorello Pharmaceuticals, Citiva, Terradiol, PalliaTech NY, and Valley Agriceuticals.
The state now has 10 total licensed producers who are allowed to open up to 4 dispensaries each.
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