STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2566--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Health -- recommitted to
the Committee on Health in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the cannabis law, in relation to medical use cannabis;
to repeal certain provisions of the cannabis law relating to the
prescription monitoring program; and to repeal article 33-A of the
public health law relating to the controlled substances therapeu-
tic research act
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 44 and 45 of section 3 of the cannabis law are
2 amended to read as follows:
3 44. ["Registry application" means an application properly completed
4 and filed with the board by a certified patient under article three of
5 this chapter.
6 45. "Registry identification card"] "Registration" means [a document
7 that identifies] identifying information of a certified patient or
8 designated caregiver that is electronically filed by a practitioner and
9 confirmed by a registered organization or designated caregiver facility,
10 as provided under this chapter and as determined by the board in regu-
11 lation.
12 45. "Registry application" means an application properly completed and
13 filed with the office by a designated caregiver under article three of
14 this chapter.
15 § 2. Subdivision 4 of section 30 of the cannabis law is REPEALED.
16 § 3. Subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of section 30 of the cannabis
17 law are amended to read as follows:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06534-03-4
S. 2566--B 2
1 [5.] 4. The practitioner shall give the certification to the certified
2 patient or the certified patient's designated caregiver, and place a
3 copy in the patient's health care record. Such certification shall
4 include information sufficient for a registered organization to confirm
5 that the certification is valid in accordance with section thirty-two of
6 this article and as determined by the board in regulation. The board
7 may, by rules and regulations, establish a code, including but not
8 limited to quick response (QR) code, for each practitioner to provide a
9 certified patient or their designated caregiver with, to present to a
10 registered organization to obtain medical cannabis or medical cannabis
11 products from a registered organization.
12 [6.] 5. No practitioner shall issue a certification under this section
13 for themselves.
14 [7.] 6. A [registry identification card based on a] certification
15 shall expire [one year] two years after the date the certification is
16 signed by the practitioner, except as provided for in subdivision eight
17 of this section.
18 [8.] 7. (a) If the practitioner states in the certification that, in
19 the practitioner's professional opinion, the patient would benefit from
20 medical cannabis only until a specified earlier date, then the [registry
21 identification card] certification shall expire on that date; (b) if the
22 practitioner states in the certification that in the practitioner's
23 professional opinion the patient is terminally ill and that the certif-
24 ication shall not expire until the patient dies, then the [registry
25 identification card] certification shall [state] include a statement
26 that the patient is terminally ill and that the [registration card]
27 certification shall not expire until the patient dies; (c) if the prac-
28 titioner re-issues the certification to terminate the certification on
29 an earlier date, then the [registry identification card] certification
30 shall expire on that date and such practitioner shall [be] promptly
31 [destroyed by the certified patient] cancel the patient's certification;
32 (d) if the certification so provides, the [registry identification card]
33 certification shall state any recommendation or limitation by the prac-
34 titioner as to the form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for the
35 certified patient; [and] (e) a practitioner may extend the expiration
36 date of a certification prior to the certification's expiration; (f) in
37 the case where a certification has expired and the practitioner deter-
38 mines that the patient would benefit from medical cannabis, the certif-
39 ication must be re-issued; and (g) the board shall make regulations to
40 implement this subdivision.
41 9. [(a) A certification may be a special certification if, in addition
42 to the other requirements for a certification, the practitioner certi-
43 fies in the certification that the patient's condition is progressive
44 and degenerative or that delay in the patient's certified medical use of
45 cannabis poses a risk to the patient's life or health.
46 (b) The office shall create the form to be used for a special certif-
47 ication and shall make that form available to be downloaded from the
48 office's website.
49 10.] Prior to issuing a certification a practitioner must complete[,
50 at a minimum, a two-hour course] appropriate training as determined by
51 the board in regulation. For the purposes of this article a person's
52 status as a practitioner is deemed to be a "license" for the purposes of
53 section thirty-three hundred ninety of the public health law and shall
54 be subject to the same revocation process.
55 § 4. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 31 of the cannabis law are
56 amended to read as follows:
S. 2566--B 3
1 1. the cannabis or concentrated cannabis that may be possessed by a
2 certified patient shall not exceed the quantities authorized in section
3 222.05 of the penal law or a sixty-day supply [of the dosage determined
4 by the practitioner], whichever is greater, consistent with any guidance
5 and regulations issued by the board[, provided that during the last
6 seven days of any sixty-day period, the certified patient may also
7 possess up to such amount for the next sixty-day period];
8 2. the cannabis or concentrated cannabis that may be possessed by a
9 designated [caregivers does] caregiver shall not exceed the quantities
10 [referred to in subdivision one of this section for each certified
11 patient for whom the caregiver possesses a valid registry identification
12 card, up to four certified patients] authorized in section 222.05 of the
13 penal law or a sixty-day supply for the certified patient, whichever is
14 greater;
15 § 5. Section 32 of the cannabis law is amended to read as follows:
16 § 32. [Registry identification cards] Validating medical cannabis
17 certifications. 1. [Upon approval of the] When presented with a certif-
18 ication from a practitioner, [the office] registered organizations shall
19 [issue registry identification cards for] confirm certifications and
20 government-issued photo identifications, pursuant to subdivision four of
21 section thirty of this article, of certified patients and designated
22 caregivers upon the production of such documentation by the certified
23 patient or designated caregiver as determined by the board in
24 regulation. [A registry identification card shall expire as provided in
25 this article or as otherwise provided in this section. The office shall
26 begin issuing registry identification cards as soon as practicable after
27 the certifications required by this chapter are granted. The office may
28 specify a form for a registry application, in which case the office
29 shall provide the form on request, reproductions of the form may be
30 used, and the form shall be available for downloading from the board's
31 or office's website.]
32 2. [To obtain, amend or renew a registry identification card, a certi-
33 fied patient or designated caregiver shall file a registry application
34 with the office, unless otherwise exempted by the board in regulation.
35 The registry application or renewal application shall include:
36 (a) in the case of a certified patient:
37 (i) the patient's certification, a new written certification shall be
38 provided with a renewal application if required by the office;
39 (ii) the name, address, and date of birth of the patient;
40 (iii) the date of the certification;
41 (iv) if the patient has a registry identification card based on a
42 current valid certification, the registry identification number and
43 expiration date of that registry identification card;
44 (v) the specified date until which the patient would benefit from
45 medical cannabis, if the certification states such a date;
46 (vi) the name, address, and telephone number of the certifying practi-
47 tioner;
48 (vii) any recommendation or limitation by the practitioner as to the
49 form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for the certified patient;
50 (viii) if the certified patient designates a designated caregiver, the
51 name, address, and date of birth of the designated caregiver, and other
52 individual identifying information required by the board;
53 (ix) if the designated caregiver is a cannabis research license holder
54 under this chapter, the name of the organization conducting the
55 research, the address, phone number, name of the individual leading the
S. 2566--B 4
1 research or appropriate designee, and other identifying information
2 required by the board; and
3 (x) other individual identifying information required by the office;
4 (b) in the case of a designated caregiver:
5 (i) the name, address, and date of birth of the designated caregiver;
6 (ii) if the designated caregiver has a registry identification card,
7 the registry identification number and expiration date of that registry
8 identification card; and
9 (iii) other individual identifying information required by the office;
10 (c) a statement that a false statement made in the application is
11 punishable under section 210.45 of the penal law;
12 (d) the date of the application and the signature of the certified
13 patient or designated caregiver, as the case may be;
14 (e) any other requirements determined by the board.] Registered organ-
15 izations shall validate patient certifications and designated caregiver
16 registrations in a manner determined by the office. The authorized
17 representative of a registered organization shall designate and author-
18 ize specific employees to conduct the validation.
19 (a) When dispensing medical cannabis, authorized registered organiza-
20 tion employees shall not dispense any medical cannabis to a certified
21 patient or a designated caregiver unless the certified patient or desig-
22 nated caregiver presents to the authorized registered organization
23 employee a valid certification from a practitioner and a valid govern-
24 ment-issued photo identification, which the authorized registered organ-
25 ization employee shall use to validate that such person is eighteen
26 years of age or older and capable of consent as documented on the
27 certification, provided that such valid government-issued photo iden-
28 tification is issued by the commissioner of motor vehicles, a local
29 government agency within the state, the federal government, any United
30 States territory, commonwealth or possession, the District of Columbia,
31 a state government within the United States, or is a valid passport
32 issued by the United States government or any other country, or is an
33 identification card issued by the armed forces of the United States.
34 (b) The authorized representative of the registered organization shall
35 promptly notify the office if at any time any unauthorized person
36 accesses patient certification or designated caregiver data, if there is
37 evidence of tampering or fraud, or any other circumstances as determined
38 by the board in regulation.
39 2-a. A certified patient may designate a caregiver. The designation of
40 the caregiver and registration of the caregiver shall be determined by
41 the board in regulation. The designated caregiver application or renewal
42 application shall include:
43 (a) the name, address, and date of birth of the designated caregiver,
44 and other individual identifying information required by the board;
45 (b) the name and date of birth for each certified patient the desig-
46 nated caregiver is designated to care for;
47 (c) if the designated caregiver is a cannabis research license holder
48 under this chapter, the name of the organization conducting the
49 research, the address, phone number, name of the individual leading the
50 research or appropriate designee, and other identifying information
51 required by the board;
52 (d) a statement that a false statement made in the application is
53 punishable under section 210.45 of the penal law;
54 (e) the date of the application and the signature, which may be elec-
55 tronic, of the designated caregiver; and
S. 2566--B 5
1 (f) upon approval of the designated caregiver application, the office
2 shall provide the designated caregiver with a code, including but not
3 limited to a quick response (QR) code, that the designated caregiver
4 must present to the registered organization when obtaining medical
5 cannabis product or products.
6 3. Where a certified patient is under the age of eighteen or otherwise
7 incapable of consent:
8 (a) The [application for a registry identification card shall be made
9 by] certifying practitioner must obtain consent from the person [respon-
10 sible for making] legally authorized to make health care decisions [for]
11 on behalf of the patient for the use of medical cannabis product or
12 products and any device used for its administration.
13 (b) At least one designated caregiver is required to be provided upon
14 certification of the patient. The designated caregiver shall be: (i) a
15 parent or legal guardian of the certified patient; (ii) a person desig-
16 nated by a parent or legal guardian; (iii) an employee of a designated
17 caregiver facility, including a cannabis research license holder; or
18 (iv) an appropriate person approved by the office upon a sufficient
19 showing that no parent or legal guardian is appropriate or available.
20 4. No person may be a designated caregiver if the person is under
21 [twenty-one] eighteen years of age unless a sufficient showing is made
22 to the office that the person should be permitted to serve as a desig-
23 nated caregiver. The requirements for such a showing shall be determined
24 by the board.
25 5. No person may be a designated caregiver for more than four certi-
26 fied patients at one time; provided, however, that this limitation shall
27 not apply to a designated caregiver facility, or cannabis research
28 license holder as defined by this chapter.
29 6. If a certified patient wishes to change or terminate [his or her]
30 their designated caregiver, for whatever reason, the certified patient
31 shall notify the office as soon as practicable. The office shall issue a
32 notification in a manner determined by the office to the designated
33 caregiver that their registration [card] is invalid and [must be] shall
34 promptly [destroyed] remove such designated caregiver's registration
35 from the registry. The newly designated caregiver must comply with all
36 requirements set forth in this section.
37 7. [If the certification so provides, the registry identification card
38 shall contain any recommendation or limitation by the practitioner as to
39 the form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for the certified
40 patient.
41 8. The office shall issue separate registry identification cards for
42 certified patients and designated caregivers as soon as reasonably prac-
43 ticable after receiving a complete application under this section,
44 unless it determines that the application is incomplete or factually
45 inaccurate, in which case it shall promptly notify the applicant.
46 9. If the application of a certified patient designates an individual
47 as a designated caregiver who is not authorized to be a designated care-
48 giver, that portion of the application shall be denied by the office but
49 that shall not affect the approval of the balance of the application.
50 10. A registry identification card shall:
51 (a) contain the name of the certified patient or the designated care-
52 giver as the case may be;
53 (b) contain the date of issuance and expiration date of the registry
54 identification card;
S. 2566--B 6
1 (c) contain a registry identification number for the certified patient
2 or designated caregiver, as the case may be and a registry identifica-
3 tion number;
4 (d) contain a photograph of the individual to whom the registry iden-
5 tification card is being issued, which shall be obtained by the office
6 in a manner specified by the board in regulations; provided, however,
7 that if the office requires certified patients to submit photographs for
8 this purpose, there shall be a reasonable accommodation of certified
9 patients who are confined to their homes due to their medical conditions
10 and may therefore have difficulty procuring photographs;
11 (e) be a secure document as determined by the board;
12 (f) plainly state any recommendation or limitation by the practitioner
13 as to the form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for the certified
14 patient; and
15 (g) any other requirements determined by the board.
16 11.] A certified patient [or designated caregiver who has been issued
17 a registry identification card shall notify the office of any change in
18 his or her name or address or, with respect to the patient, if he or she
19 ceases to have the condition noted on the certification within ten days
20 of such change. The certified patient's or designated caregiver's regis-
21 try identification card shall be deemed invalid and shall be promptly
22 destroyed] shall notify their practitioner of any change in their name
23 or address and the practitioner shall update the certification accord-
24 ingly.
25 [12. If a certified patient or designated caregiver loses his or her
26 registry identification card, he or she shall notify the office within
27 ten days of losing the card. The office shall issue a new registry iden-
28 tification card as soon as practicable, which may contain a new registry
29 identification number, to the certified patient or designated caregiver,
30 as the case may be.
31 13. The office shall maintain a confidential list of the persons to
32 whom it has issued registry identification cards. Individual identifying
33 information obtained by the office under this article shall be confiden-
34 tial and exempt from disclosure under article six of the public officers
35 law.
36 14. The board shall verify to law enforcement personnel in an appro-
37 priate case whether a registry identification card is valid and any
38 other relevant information necessary to protect patients' rights to
39 medical cannabis by confirming compliance with this article.
40 15.] 8. A designated caregiver who has been issued a registration
41 shall notify the office of any change in their name or address in a
42 manner determined by the office.
43 9. If a certified patient or designated caregiver willfully violates
44 any provision of this article as determined by the board, [his or her]
45 their certification, and [registry identification card] in the case of
46 the designated caregiver, their registration may be suspended or
47 revoked. This [is] may be in addition to any other penalty that [may]
48 would apply.
49 [16. The board shall make regulations for special certifications,
50 which shall include expedited procedures and which may require the
51 applicant to submit additional documentation establishing the clinical
52 basis for the special certification. If the board has not established
53 and made available a form for a registry application or renewal applica-
54 tion, then in the case of a special certification, a registry applica-
55 tion or renewal application that otherwise conforms with the require-
56 ments of this section shall not require the use of a form.]
S. 2566--B 7
1 10. Information obtained by the office under this article shall be
2 confidential and exempt from disclosure under article six of the public
3 officers law.
4 11. Any practitioner or registered organization authorized represen-
5 tative or employee who is found to have knowingly and fraudulently
6 manipulated certified patient or designated caregiver information, or
7 whose knowing and negligent behavior or knowing actions directly related
8 to their duties pursuant to this section results in a serious threat to
9 the health and safety of a certified patient or patients, is guilty of a
10 class A misdemeanor. In the case that this misdemeanor complaint has
11 been filed against a practitioner, the board or office may additionally
12 refer any relevant internal findings to the department of health or the
13 state education department if the board or office concludes the
14 violation may warrant professional disciplinary intervention.
15 § 6. The cannabis law is amended by adding a new section 32-a to read
16 as follows:
17 § 32-a. Medical cannabis patient reciprocity. 1. Subject to the
18 provisions of this article and the rules and regulations of the board
19 promulgated thereunder, medical cannabis patients from other states
20 within the United States, United States territories, commonwealths or
21 possessions, or the District of Columbia are authorized to obtain
22 medical cannabis or medical cannabis products from a registered organ-
23 ization, provided such patient is deemed a certified patient or is
24 registered as a medical cannabis patient in their home state or juris-
25 diction and presents proof of such certification or registration and a
26 valid government-issued photo identification to a registered organiza-
27 tion. Such registered organization shall then validate such patient and
28 dispense medical cannabis pursuant to the procedures determined by the
29 board in regulation.
30 2. Medical cannabis patients from other states or jurisdictions of the
31 United States who obtain medical cannabis from a registered organization
32 in this state pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall comply
33 with:
34 (a) all provisions of this chapter and all rules and regulations
35 promulgated thereunder; and
36 (b) articles one hundred seventy-nine and two hundred twenty-two of
37 the penal law.
38 3. Certified patients in New York shall be authorized to obtain
39 medical cannabis or medical cannabis products from other states and
40 jurisdictions of the United States in accordance with the requirements
41 set forth by such state or other United States jurisdiction.
42 § 7. Subdivision 4 of section 34 of the cannabis law is amended to
43 read as follows:
44 4. (a) A registered organization may lawfully, in good faith, sell,
45 deliver, distribute or dispense medical cannabis to a certified patient
46 or designated caregiver upon presentation to the registered organization
47 of a valid [registry identification card] certification and valid
48 government-issued photo identification for that certified patient or
49 designated caregiver, pursuant to section thirty-two of this article.
50 When presented with the [registry identification card] certification,
51 the registered organization shall provide to the certified patient or
52 designated caregiver a receipt, which may be electronic, which shall
53 state: the name, address, and registry identification number of the
54 registered organization; the name and registry identification number of
55 the certified patient and the designated caregiver, if any; the date the
56 cannabis was sold; [any recommendation or limitation by the practitioner
S. 2566--B 8
1 as to the form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for the certified
2 patient;] and the form and the quantity of medical cannabis sold. The
3 registered organization shall retain [a copy] any copies of [the] regis-
4 try identification [card] cards used by certified patients or designated
5 caregivers prior to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two
6 thousand twenty-four that amended this paragraph and the receipt for six
7 years following the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two
8 thousand twenty-four that amended this paragraph and shall make such
9 records available to the office upon request.
10 (b) The proprietor of a registered organization shall file or cause to
11 be filed any dispensing receipt and certification information with the
12 office by electronic means on a real-time basis as the board shall
13 require by regulation. When filing dispensing receipt and certification
14 information electronically pursuant to this paragraph, the proprietor of
15 the registered organization shall dispose of any electronically recorded
16 [prescription] information in such manner as the board shall by regu-
17 lation require.
18 § 8. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 34 of the cannabis law
19 is amended to read as follows:
20 (b) When dispensing medical cannabis to a certified patient or desig-
21 nated caregiver, the registered organization[: (i)] shall not dispense
22 an amount greater than [a sixty-day supply to a certified patient until
23 the certified patient has exhausted all but a seven day supply provided
24 pursuant to a previously issued certification; and (ii) shall verify the
25 information in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph by consulting the
26 prescription monitoring program registry under] the amounts authorized
27 in section thirty-one of this article.
28 § 9. Subdivision 3 of section 37 of the cannabis law is amended to
29 read as follows:
30 3. The board shall [report every two years, beginning two years after
31 the effective date of this article, to the governor and the legislature
32 on] collect data and publish information related to the medical use of
33 cannabis under this article and make appropriate recommendations in its
34 annual report.
35 § 10. Section 41 of the cannabis law is amended to read as follows:
36 § 41. Home cultivation of medical cannabis. 1. Certified patients
37 [twenty-one] eighteen years of age or older may cultivate cannabis for
38 personal medical use. Designated caregivers twenty-one years of age or
39 older, caring for certified patients either younger than twenty-one
40 years of age or whose physical or cognitive impairments prevent them
41 from cultivating cannabis, may cultivate cannabis for use by such
42 patients, provided that no other caregiver is growing for said patient
43 or patients. [All cultivation] Cultivation under this section shall be
44 in accordance with section 222.15 of the penal law and any regulations
45 made by the board, provided that the maximum number of cannabis plants a
46 designated caregiver is authorized to grow is proportionately increased
47 for each patient they are growing for.
48 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit any certified
49 patient or designated caregiver to sell any cultivated cannabis produced
50 by any cannabis plant which is or was cultivated for a certified patient
51 pursuant to this section to any other person, even if the certified
52 patient no longer needs or wants such cannabis; provided however, a
53 certified patient or designated caregiver shall be authorized to give
54 such cultivated cannabis to another certified patient in the amounts
55 authorized by section thirty-one of this article. Any certified patient
56 or designated caregiver who is found to be selling such cultivated
S. 2566--B 9
1 cannabis for compensation or other remuneration may be subject to any
2 relevant penalties in this chapter, the penal law, and the tax law.
3 § 11. Subdivision 4 of section 42 of the cannabis law is amended to
4 read as follows:
5 4. (a) [Certification applications] Certifications, certification
6 forms[,] and any certified patient or designated caregiver information
7 contained within a database[, and copies of registry identification
8 cards] shall be deemed exempt from public disclosure under sections
9 eighty-seven and eighty-nine of the public officers law. Upon specific
10 request by a certified patient to the office, the office shall verify
11 the requesting patient's status as a valid certified patient to the
12 patient's school or employer or other designated party, to ensure
13 compliance with the protections afforded by this section.
14 (b) The name, contact information, and other information relating to
15 practitioners [registered with the board] certifying patients under this
16 article shall be public information and shall be maintained on the
17 board's website accessible to the public in searchable form. However, if
18 a practitioner notifies the board in writing that [he or she does] they
19 do not want [his or her] their name and other information disclosed,
20 that practitioner's name and other information shall thereafter not be
21 public information or maintained on the board's website, unless the
22 practitioner cancels the request.
23 § 12. Article 33-A of the public health law is REPEALED.
24 § 13. The commissioner of health, the executive director of the office
25 of cannabis management and the commissioner of education, or their
26 designees, shall work in conjunction to expeditiously transfer any
27 records, documents and papers of the controlled substances therapeutic
28 research act and the Antonio G. Olivieri controlled substances therapeu-
29 tic research program repealed by section twelve of this act, from the
30 department of health to the office of cannabis management and the state
31 archives prior to such repeal.
32 § 14. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however that
33 sections one, three, four, five, six, seven and ten of this act shall
34 take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law; and
35 provided, further, that section twelve of this act shall take effect on
36 the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law; and
37 provided, further, that sections two and eight of this act shall take
38 effect eighteen months after it shall have become a law.
