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New Law Allows New York Health Facilities to Obtain Medical Marijuana for Patients

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Temporary emergency regulations have gone into effect and allow patients in hospitals, hospice care and residential care facilities access to medical marijuana. The facilities will be recognized as caregivers. The move is to help more New York medical marijuana patients to have access to medicine.

Prior to the new regulations, only designated caregivers were permitted to provide medical marijuana to patients in facilities, according to Times Union. Facilities in New York are allowed to opt-in to participating in the new medical marijuana program rules. Determining which employees of the facilities will be allowed to provide the medicine to patients is yet to be decided.

Other facilities approved to participate include:

  • All adult care facilities (adult homes)
  • Mental health facilities
  • Residential treatment facilities for adolescents
  • Community mental health residents

The state has implemented rules for storage of medical marijuana as well as destroying unused portions of the medicine. Dan Heim of LeadingAge New York believes that there will be some interest but there hasn’t been much conversation about the topic yet.

Heim said, “I think there’ll be some openness and I think there’ll be some interest, but I can’t give you a handle on any facilities who have been looking to do this.”

One concern that may arise is liability for transporting and acquiring the medical marijuana.

Kate Hintz, patient advocate, notes that children of hospitalized/institutionalized parents want access so that they can bring medical marijuana to their ailing parents.

Hintz said, “This was a big issue for patients who are living outside of their homes.”

New regulations will be available or review on October 25. These new regulations may undergo a 45-day public comment period before the new regulations can be permanently adopted.