New York accepting Medical Marijuana Applications
Posted by Sagar Satapathy on April 30, 2015.
New York has begun accepting applications from businesses who are interested to manufacture and dispense medical marijuana in the state. It was announced by the state Department of Health. Once their applications are scrutinized and approved, they will be registered with the Department of Health. Deadline for filing the applications is May 29, 2015.
The applicants will have to pay a fee of $10,000 towards non-refundable application fee. The registration fee will be $200,000. The final list of approved applicants will be announced in July 2015. Any queries related to the application procedure can be submitted by May 5 and would be answered by May 14. The $200,000 registration fee will be refunded to businesses that are not issued a registration.
Only 5 applicants will be approved to cultivate and dispense medical marijuana in New York. They can have four dispensaries each. The dispensaries must be located in multiple counties across New York so that there is equitable distribution of medical marijuana on the basis of geographical presence. Diversity would be the key here and adjacent counties won't be allowed.
Medical Marijuana advocates have been urging the State to speed up the process so that patients, especially sick children and elderly people can take advantage of the drug at the earliest. Even after the approval of applicants, the process may take long to lease potential buildings, equip them with relevant infrastructure and machinery and then start cultivating. Dispensing may take longer than expected.
The medical marijuana bill was signed into law on July 7, 2015. The new law will only allow the drug in non-smokeable forms, including pills, oils and vapors.
