New York's 1st Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to open Thursday

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on January 06, 2016.

In a historic move, the first Medical Marijuana Dispensaries of New York, will open today amid strict rules and regulation. In total, eight dispensaries are slated to be launched across the state. The Compassionate Care Act was signed into law in July 2014, allowing patients with debilitating or life threatening conditions to obtain medical marijuana.

The Department of Health has listed the following diseases under the ambit of medical marijuana use: cancer, HIV infection or AIDS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury with spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathy, and Huntington's disease.

Patients suffering from the above conditions would have to consult registered physician to receive a prescription. Doctors are required to pay for a $249 four-hour online course in order to receive training/licensing. The Department of Health will soon post a list of registered physicians who consent to providing their names and specialties.

Patients with certification from a registered physicians, will be required to register with the Medical Marijuana program through the Department of Health's site and pay the $50 application fee. The registered patients will receive a registry identification card through email. Patients then will have to schedule an appointment with one of the authorized dispensaries to meet with a pharmacist to get a 30-day supply of medical marijuana.

New York is the only state apart from Minnesota to limit medical marijuana to non-smokeable extracts delivered in forms such as capsules, vaporizers and oral liquids. The medical marijuana program in New York will be limited to 20 dispensaries.

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