City Bar Urges Passage of Compassionate Care Act to Permit Doctors to Prescribe Medical Marijuana in New York

The New York City Bar Association continues to urge passage of the Compassionate Care Act (the “CCA”) and applauds its inclusion in the Assembly’s 2014-15 Health and Mental Hygiene budget. While commending Governor Andrew Cuomo’s earlier proposal to use his executive power to restart a research program that would allow some ill New Yorkers to obtain medical marijuana, the City Bar’s Drugs and the Law and Health Law Committees express concern in a report regarding the “narrow scope” of the proposal. The report states, “We believe that appropriately licensed and regulated registered organizations/dispensaries in the community, as provided for by the CCA, are better suited for reaching the populations suffering from the serious conditions that may benefit from treatment with medical marijuana. The CCA will provide for the data collection, research and review necessary to evaluate long-term program efficacy. In short, the CCA addresses the issues of concern: production, distribution, licensing, diversion, taxation, efficacy, program review and protection of medical marijuana.” The report may be read here: http://bit.ly/1mQlUDF The City Bar’s Report in Support of Legislation Permitting the Production, Distribution and Use of Medical Marijuana in New York State may be read here: http://bit.ly/1gNeV76