At a Glance
Medical Marijuana Program: Yes
Adult Use / Recreational MMJ: No
Pediatric: yes
Home grow: No
Possession limit: 30 day supply of cannabis-infused, non-smokable products
Reciprocity : No
Legislation: Assembly Bill 6357
Estimated # of registered patients: 30,000
Types of cannabis permitted for use: Patients will be able to use lotions, ointments, chewables, lozenges, and patches to treat qualifying conditions. However, the state program continues to only allow non-smokable forms of medical marijuana.
Legalization & Important Dates
June 19, 2014, Assembly Bill 6357, was approved and signed into law by the New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 05, 2014 (effective upon signature), effectively removing all state-level criminal penalties on the use and possession of marijuana by patients in possession of a written letter from a physician stating that he or she may benefit from the medical use of marijuana for alleviating symptoms caused by debilitating medical conditions and their medical treatments.
Types of Licenses
4 producers of cannabis-based preparations
20 dispensing centers were to be licensed by the state.
In 2017, the Department of Health registered five additional entities to manufacture and dispense cannabis-infused products.
Associated Fees
• five applicants as registered organizations to manufacture and dispense approved medical marijuana products in New York State.
• Each applicant must submit two fees with its application: a non-refundable application fee in the amount of $10,000, and a registration fee in the amount of $200,000.
• The $200,000 registration fee will be refunded to the applicant only if the applicant is not issued a registration.
Qualifying Conditions
• Cancer,
• positive status for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS),
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s Disease),
• Parkinson’s Disease,
• Multiple Sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable Spasticity, Epilepsy,
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease(IBD),
• ulcerative colitis,
• Crohn’s Disease,
• Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy,
• neuropathies and Huntington’s Disease
• chronic pain
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• cachexia or wasting syndrome,
• severe nausea, seizures,
• severe or persistent muscle spasms
• severe or chronic pain
How to Become A Medical Marijuana Patient
1. Patients are required to obtain legitimate medical records or documentation from their primary care physician describing the diagnosis of their qualifying condition — *Learn how to request your medical records
2. Patients are required to obtain a signed Physician’s Statement from a physician, currently licensed to practice medicine in New York — *Find a certified medical marijuana physician in New York
3. Patients must be a resident in the state of New York with proof of residency. If you do not have a New York I.D. an out of state I.D., passport, or other photo I.D. with proof of residency such as bank statement, utility bill, etc is acceptable.
4. To qualify, a patient needs to be diagnosed by a physician as having one of the debilitating medical conditions that is specifically identified in the law
5. The patient registry application fee is $50 — the registry is mandatory and does NOT accept out-of-state cards.
Card Holder Benefits
• Access to registered dispensaries
• Protection from criminal or civil penalties
• Access to affordable marijuana
Caregivers
Yes, each certified patient may have up to two caregivers, and each caregiver may serve no more than five certified patients.
