Healthcare Practitioners and Patients Urge New York Senate to Pass Bill Without Delay
By Steve Elliott
Hemp News
The New York State Assembly on Monday, for the fourth time, passed a medical marijuana bill; it now goes to the New York Senate.
The Assembly approved the Compassionate Care Act (A.6357/Gottfried) by a vote of 95 to 38. The bill, which would create one the most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs in the country, would help alleviate the suffering of thousands of seriously ill New Yorkers by allowing the use of marijuana to treat debilitating, life-threatening illnesses under a doctor’s supervision.
The Compassionate Care Act – A.6357 (Gottfried) / S. 4406 (Savino) – would allow practitioners to talk to their patients about medical marijuana and certify those with serious, debilitating illnesses, so that they may have access to a small amount of medical marijuana to relieve their symptoms.
“New Yorkers living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses have waited long enough,” said gabriel sayegh, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance's New York Policy Office. “This is a simple matter of compassion.
"This is the fourth time the State Assembly has passed a medical marijuana bill," sayegh pointed out. "Now it’s long past time for the State Senate to act. The science is clear. The moral and ethical needs are obvious.
