New York doctors can now recommend medical cannabis for any condition after the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) launched a new certification and registration system that expands patient access and eligibility, according to the New York Daily News.
The state’s adult-use cannabis law, which passed last year, included provisions to expand New York’s medical cannabis program, which launched in 2016 and was only accessible to patients with one of several qualifying conditions.
Patients can now access whole cannabis flower under the expanded law, the New York Daily News reported, and dentists, podiatrists and midwives can now certify patients for the medical cannabis program under the new rules.
The latest rule change also increases the amount of cannabis a patient or caregiver can purchase from a 30-day supply to a 60-day supply, as well as eliminates the registration fee for patients and caregivers, according to the news outlet.
New rules also shift regulatory oversight of New York’s medical cannabis program from the Department of Health to the OCM, although OCM executive director Chris Alexander told New York Daily News that patient access will not be disrupted during the transition.
