A07542 Summary:

BILL NO    A07542 

SAME AS    No same as

SPONSOR    Gottfried (MS)

COSPNSR    Cahill, Clark, Cymbrowitz, Dinowitz, O'Donnell, Paulin,
           Peoples-Stokes, Lifton, Kavanagh, Cook, Spano, DenDekker, Skartados,
           Calhoun

MLTSPNSR   Alfano, Aubry, Boyland, Brennan, Brook-Krasny, Galef, Glick, Hikind,
           Hoyt, Jacobs, Jaffee, Kellner, Lopez V, Lupardo, Maisel, Markey,
           Mayersohn, McEneny, Miller J, Millman, Pheffer, Powell, Pretlow,
           Rivera N, Robinson, Rosenthal, Scarborough, Schimel, Sweeney, Towns,
           Weisenberg, Wright

Add Art 33 Title V-A SS3360 - 3369, Pub Health L; amd S853, Gen Bus L

Legalizes the possession, manufacture, use, delivery, transfer, transport or
administration of marihuana by a certified patient or designated caregiver for
a certified medical use; prescribes procedures for such possession,
manufacture, etc. including certification of patients by their practitioner,
and that, in the practitioner's professional judgment, the serious condition
should be treated with the medical use of marihuana; provides that possession
or manufacture of marihuana shall be lawful under these provisions provided
that the marihuana possessed does not exceed twelve plants and a total
aggregate weight of two and a half ounces; directs the department of health to
monitor such use and promulgate rules and regulations for registry
identification cards; provides for reports by the department of health to the
governor and legislature on the medical use of marihuana.

A07542 Actions:

BILL NO    A07542 

04/14/2009 referred to health
04/28/2009 reported referred to codes
06/02/2009 reported referred to ways and means
06/08/2009 reported referred to rules
06/10/2009 reported 
06/10/2009 rules report cal.156
06/10/2009 ordered to third reading rules cal.156
01/06/2010 referred to health

A07542 Votes:

A07542 Memo:

BILL NUMBER:A7542

TITLE  OF BILL:  An act to amend the public health law and the general
business law, in relation to medical use of marihuana

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:  Allows patient to use  marihuana  to
treat a serious illness under medical supervision.

SUMMARY  OF  SPECIFIC PROVISIONS: Section 1.  Legislative findings and
intent

Section 2. Amends Public Health Law Article 33 by adding a  new  Title
V-A, Medical Use of Marihuana.

S3360 defines certified medical use, certified patient, certification,
designated   caregiver,   public  place,  serious  condition,  medical
marihuana, registry application,  registry  identification  card,  and
usable   marihuana.  A  serious  condition  is  defined  as  a  severe
debilitating or life-threatening condition or a  condition  associated
with or a complication of such a condition, or its treatment.

S3361  allows  a licensed practitioner (the defined term in the Public
Health Law for people who  may  prescribe  controlled  substances)  to
certify   that   a  patient  has  a  serious  condition  that  in  the
practitioner's judgment can and should be treated with the medical use
of marihuana,. A copy of the  certification  will  be  placed  in  the
patient's  medical  records  and  the patient will get the original. A
prescriber is not allowed to certify medical marijuana for himself  or
herself.  A certification will be valid for a maximum of one year from
the date it is written.

S3362 allows the possession of up  to  two  and  one  half  ounces  of
marihuana,  and  up to 12 plants, by a certified patient in possession
of a valid registry identification card, for medical use. A designated
caregiver may possess that amount for each patient for whom her or she
is the caregiver. Plants must be in an enclosed area equipped  with  a
security  device  and  will be accessible only to the caregiver or the
patient. It would allow medical marihuana to be given or  disposed  of
to  a  certified  patient  only  when  nothing  of value is exchanged.
However, registered  organizations  may  be  paid.    Use  of  medical
marihuana is not allowed in a public place.

S3363   directs   the   Department   of   Health   to  issue  registry
identification cards to certified patients and designated  caregivers.
No  individual  shall  be  a  certified  caregiver  for more than five
patients.

S3364 creates registered organizations for the purpose  of  acquiring,
possessing,   manufacturing,   selling,  delivering,  transporting  or
distributing  marihuana  for  certified  medical  use.  A   registered
organization  may  be  a  pharmacy;  an  Article  28-licensed facility
(hospital, clinic, etc.); a not-for-profit corporation organized to be
a registered organization; the Department; a local health  department;
or  a  registered  producer (an entity that produces marihuana, solely
for sale to other registered organizations).


S3365  establishes  guidelines  for  the  registering  of   registered
organizations.  Allows  the  department  to  suspend  or terminate and
registration on grounds,  and  using  procedures  under  this  article
relating to a license, to the extent consistent with this title.

S3366  requires registered organizations to report to the commissioner
all  sales,  deliveries  or  distributions  of  medical  marihuana  to
certified  patients  or  designated  caregivers  during  a  particular
period.

S3367  requires  the  commissioner  to  apply  to  the  United  States
government for permission to implement sections 3364, 3365 and 3366 of
this  title  and  states  that these sections shall not be implemented
unless and until the state gets that permission or a change in federal
law makes it unnecessary.

New S3368 directs the Health Department to contract with a third party
to conduct an evaluation of the operation of the law.

New S3369 applies other provisions of Article 33 to this title.  Where
a  provision of this title conflicts with another provision of Article
33, this title applies. The  bill  does  not  require  any  public  or
private  health  plan  to  cover medical marihuana. Re-states the rule
that reasonable good-faith actions  in  compliance  with  this  title,
absent  some  other  element,  would not subject a person or entity to
criminal or civil liability or professional discipline.

Section 3 of the bill amends Section 853-g of the General Business Law
to allow for the sale, furnishing and possession of materials used  in
the lawful administration of medical marihuana to a certified ultimate
user.

JUSTIFICATION:     Thousands  of  New  Yorkers  have  serious  medical
conditions that  may  benefit  from  medical  use  of  marijuana.  The
National  Academy  of  Sciences'  Institute of Medicine concluded in a
1999 report that "nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety. . .all  can
be  mitigated by marijuana." Doctors and patients have documented that
marijuana can be an effective treatment - where other medications have
failed - for at least some patients who suffer from HIV/AIDS,  cancer,
epilepsy,   multiple   sclerosis,   and   other   life-threatening  or
debilitating conditions. Although other drugs are more effective  than
marijuana  for  some  patients,  the  Institute of Medicine noted that
"there will likely always be a subpopulation of patients  who  do  not
respond   well  to  other  medications."  Medical  marihuana  must  be
available to those patients.

The active ingredient in marijuana, THC, has been approved for medical
use  by  the  Federal  Food  and  Drug  Administration  and  the  Drug
Enforcement Agency since 1986 in synthetic pill form. But consuming it
in  natural  form  -  which  many  physicians  say is more effective -
continues to be illegal. In an editorial in the January 30,  1997  New
England  Journal  of  Medicine,  Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, editor of the
Journal, explained that inhaling THC is more effective than taking the
synthetic pill: "smoking marijuana produces a rapid  increase  in  the
blood  level  of  the active ingredients and is thus more likely to be
therapeutic." It also enables tighter control of the amount  ingested.
According  to  the  Institute of Medicine, "it is well recognized that


(the) oral route of administration hampers its  effectiveness  because
of slow absorption and patients' desire for more control over dosing."

Legalizing  the  medical  use of effective medicine does not undermine
the message that nonmedical use of illegal drugs is wrong.

Many controlled substances that are legal for  medical  use  (such  as
morphine,  Valium and steroids) are otherwise illegal. In the same New
England Journal of Medicine editorial, Dr. Kassirer argued that "it is
also hypocritical to forbid physicians to  prescribe  marijuana  while
permitting  them  to  use  morphine  and  meperidine to relive extreme
dyspnea and pain."

The bill's provisions are consistent with other state laws relating to
the medical use of marihuana, and is most  closely  related  to  Rhode
Island's  law,  which  passed  after  the  June,  2005  Supreme  Court
decision.

The bill amends the Public  Health  Law  rather  than  the  Penal  Law
because  the  Penal  Law's controlled substances provisions all relate
back to the Public Health Law. Thus, all the acts that the bill  makes
lawful  under  the  Public  Health  Law would, by definition, be legal
under the Penal Law.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
1997-98 : A.6407 - referred to Health
1999-00: A.8082 - referred to Health
2001-02: A.5878 - referred to Health
2003: A.5796 - reported to Rules
2004: A.57960-A - reported to Rules
2005-06: A.8265 - reported to Rules
2007-08: A.4867-A and -B - passed Assembly

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:  Minimal administrative expenses, largely covered
by registration fees.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  Sixty days after it shall become law.