Medical Marijuana May be Coming to Madison County

By Martha E. Conway

(Town of Sullivan, NY – July 2, 2014) Christopher Spelman made a passionate plea to the Sullivan Town Council last week to get ahead of the medical marijuana provisions of the Compassionate Care Act proposed in Albany. The Bridgeport resident, who describes himself as a full-time single father, suffers from multiple sclerosis and has seen improvements in his condition using marijuana to manage symptoms in the past.

Spelman asked Supervisor John M. Becker, who also serves as the chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors, and the town board to get ahead of the bill as much as possible before big business and downstate interests take control of what could be a beneficial crop and business for Madison County.

“This bill is going to be a failure in its current form,” Spelman said. “New York City will get a number of distribution areas – and only 20 will be allowed across the state.”

He said if there is a concentration of distribution points in the city, upstate patients will likely have to travel many miles to get the drug.

“Done correctly, this could be beneficial to the community in many ways,” Spelman said. “The way it’s set up now, it could mean a monopoly, and we could see the agricultural portion of the supply wind up out of state.”

Becker said he’s been approached by officials in Albany.

“I was told there will be five manufacturers in the state, and each of them may have up to four distribution points,” Becker said. “Madison County has been identified as one of the areas where the crop could be grown.”

Beyond that, Becker said details were slim; he read from a brief statement provided to him by the state.

“There’s not a lot of information available yet,” said town attorney John Langey. “It would appear that [the state Department of Agriculture and Markets] will have a hand in it, and the Department of Health will promulgate regulations for producers.”

He said a local municipality’s ability to have input on those regulations was still a question mark.

“[Gov. Andrew] Cuomo wants consistency,” Spelman said. “He wants it regulated in such a way that every dose can be traced back to its source.”

According to compassionatecareny.org/medical-marijuana/, the New York State Compassionate Care Act proposal was drafted with careful, strict controls: under tight regulation, a patient who has been certified by a healthcare provider to use medical marijuana would register with the New York State Department of Health and receive a patient identification card. Specially approved organizations would dispense the medical marijuana to registered patients, under DOH supervision.

Patients:

* must be certified by a healthcare practitioner (physician, physician’s assistant or registered nurse); and

* must have a severely debilitating or life-threatening illness for which marijuana is likely to have a therapeutic or palliative benefit.

Designated Caregivers:

* must be at least 21 years of age, unless approved by DOH;

* can serve no more than five certified patients;

* must possess a registry ID card for each patient in their care; and

* must also be registered by DOH.

Healthcare Practitioners:

* must report all patient certification info to DOH;

* certify medical marijuana use consistent with specified legal limits; and

* cannot certify use for themselves.

Department of Health

* issues Patient and Caregiver Registry ID card; and

* regulates healthcare providers, patients, dispensaries.

Dispensaries:

* can be pharmacies, Article 28 facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, community health centers, hospices), non-profit organizations, or for-profit businesses;

* must apply to DOH to legally sell and dispense medical marijuana to patients or caregivers with a valid registry identification card;

* are assessed by DOH for qualifications, including ability to meet safety and security requirements, adequate physical space, ability to comply with state laws and regulations, character and competency, and moral character of organizational officer;.

* receive registrations valid for two years, after which time renewal is required;

* are taxed $250 per pound for all marijuana sold; 50 percent of all tax revenue goes to the local county in which the registered organization is located;

* are required to report all sales, deliveries or distributions of medical marijuana to DOH and comply with the Internet System for Tracking Over-Prescribing law, treating medical marijuana like other prescription drugs that must be tracked by ISTOP; and

* must include a DOH-developed safety insert with each sale.

Spelman said his symptoms have worsened since being unable to legally procure marijuana and urged town board members to research Harborside in California to see how a well-functioning operation might look.

 “The way other states operate, producers are people with disabilities,” Spelman said. “They are personally involved because they have a vested interest.”

Martha E. Conway is vice president of M3P Media, LLC, and publisher of the Madison County Courier. She can be reached at 315.813.0124 or by emailing martha@m3pmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/marthaeconway or Facebook at facebook.com/meconway.