New York City Bar Association 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

About the Association
The New York City Bar Association, since its founding in 1870, has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the legal profession, promoting reform of the law and access to justice, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association, through its 24,000 members, continues to work for political, legal and social reform while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities. www.nycbar.org