New York Cannabis: Anyone with an opioid prescription in the state of New York has just become eligible to trade their prescription in for a medical marijuana one.
Effective last Thursday, the New York State Health Department announced that it filed for emergency regulations. This means that New Yorkers can now replace their opioid prescription with a medicinal cannabis prescription.
New York Cannabis: Change of Heart
Last month, the state of New York announced that it would be rechecking its state-mandated qualifying conditions for medical marijuana. It seems that the Health Department rethought their decision after all. The number of New Yorkers that now qualify for medical cannabis has skyrocketed.
As of July 12th, any condition that a doctor can prescribe narcotics for, a patient can also receive medical cannabis instead.
Before the emergency regulation went into effect, New York saw chronic pain as a qualifying condition to receive medical marijuana. However, other severe pain disorders did not qualify at the time. The over-prescribing of opioids has been the main contribution to the opioid crisis in America.
Will The New Law Reduce Opioid Addiction?
Between 2013 and 2016, New Yorkers died at a 135% higher rate in opioid deaths than any other death. Towards the end of 2016, the state ranked two points higher than the national rate.
The State Health Department of New York thinks that the new provision to the law will reduce the number of patients addicted to narcotics. New York's medical cannabis has struggled in its expansion, but this new provision should boost it exponentially.
Howard Sucker, New York State's Health Commissioner, told a local news station:
"We feel this is another way to move the program forward, particularly because there are individuals who are in chronic pain […] We feel adding individuals who are on prescription opioids and having them part of the medical marijuana program will help them."
It could take a considerable amount of time to see any change made with the new program, as the demand for marijuana will rise and the state's dispensaries will have to keep up.
What do you think?
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