New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation Nov. 21 that intends to improve medical cannabis access and patient rights through expanding the state’s regulated program that launched in 2016.
State Sen. Jeremy Cooney, D-Rochester, who chairs the New York Senate Cannabis Subcommittee, and Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, D-Buffalo, carried the legislation, Senate Bill S3294A, in their respective chambers when it passed in June.
The now-signed bill provides out-of-state patients with reciprocity to purchase cannabis products from New York’s licensed medical cannabis dispensaries.
In-state patients will have a streamlined certification process that intends to reduce participation barriers, including extending certifications from one year to two years. Under the current framework, the renewal process costs up to roughly $250 annually for some patients.
Also, patients will no longer be required to have a physical certification card when visiting dispensaries. Instead, they can have a digital certificate with a QR code.
These provisions are meant to “collectively strengthen patient autonomy, safeguard program integrity, and enhance clarity for both patients and caregivers,” according to a New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) press release issued Nov. 25.
“This legislation reflects New York’s ongoing commitment to compassion, science, access and equity,” OCM Acting Executive Director Felicia A.B. Reid said.
In addition, the new law creates flexible possession limits for patients and caregivers, allowing them to possess what’s allowed under state law (3 ounces of flower/24 grams of concentrate) or a 60-day supply, whichever is greater.
The law will also allow patients and caregivers 18 and older (versus 21 and older) to home-cultivate medical cannabis for their personal medical use, with no more than three mature and three immature plants per person (or six mature and six immature per household).
“Patients deserve a medical cannabis program that truly supports their care, and these updates move us closer to that goal,” OCM Chief Medical Officer Dr. June Chin said. “By expanding access and modernizing the system, we are ensuring that treatment decisions are guided by evidence, clinical expertise, and the lived experiences of the people we serve.”
The new provisions in the law won’t go into effect for 90 days or, in some cases, longer if new regulations are required for implementation.
While the law intends to strengthen patient access, it does not remove New York’s 3.15% excise tax on medical cannabis products. Outside of medical cannabis, New York does not impose a sales tax on other prescription or over-the-counter medicines, such as Tylenol.
Hochul signed the bill at a time when New York’s adult-use dispensaries are on pace to sell $1.7 billion in cannabis in 2025, according to the OCM. However, the state doesn’t publicly disclose the same sales data for medical cannabis. Through repeated public records requests last year, Cannabis Business Times learned that the state’s medical cannabis market accounted for roughly $125 million in sales in 2024, with month-over-month figures shrinking.
In 2025, eight licensed companies are operating just 30 medical cannabis dispensaries that are open for business in New York, leaving many regions of the state unserved or underserved.
Cooney, who sponsored the now-signed legislation in the upper chamber, explained the state of affairs earlier this year in an interview with The Capitol Pressroom.
“Prior to the adult-use legalization legislation, there was an existing medical cannabis program in place in New York,” he said. “Unfortunately, since that program first started, we have seen so many regulatory challenges and hurdles that many of these licensees for the medical cannabis program have struggled to keep their doors open. … Patients, who rely on access to medicinal cannabis, oftentimes can’t get access, because there’s not a dispensary in their neck of the woods.”
Cooney said he hopes the state’s medical cannabis licensees will open more medical dispensaries as a result of his legislation so that patients can gain access to the care that they need.
Dr. Nakesha Abel, the OCM’s deputy director of scientific programs and research, said the goal of the legislation is to “ensure that we were easing access barriers to medical cannabis across the state. By grounding policy in data and patient experience, we’ve built a stronger, more accessible program for all New Yorkers.”
