And this is the down side of legalization with too much damn regulation… :snoop:

http://www.marijuana.com/news/2015/03/new-yorks-medical-marijuana-plan-is-not-going-well

Medical marijuana is coming to New York very soon, but unless you’re on or near your death bed, you probably won’t qualify for medical marijuana in the Empire State. When New York became America’s 23rd medical marijuana state over 9 months ago, the news justly struck a chord with the nation–because if New York goes medical, what’s stopping the rest of the nation?

Sadly, as we noted at the time and The New York Times again points out, the incoming law is more farce than compassion. Only the following ten types of medical problems qualify patients in New  York:

"Cancer, HIV/AIDs, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication on intractable spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, Huntington’s Disease, or as added by the commissioner by DOH."

For all these patients in need and particularly those with epilepsy (there’s a lot of those), access will soon be allowed when the state’s Health Department issues its final regulations–which are allegedly coming soon. But aside from the fact that these patients can’t even inhale cannabis, the bill is already riddled with caveats and some laws that make monopolies inevitable.

The state will allow 20 dispensaries but those 20 dispensaries will be run by only five companies. Those five companies are only allowed to sell "five so-called brands of medical marijuana"–which hints that only select, hand-picked strains for certain conditions will be made available. Given the breadth of marijuana (there are thousands of strains nowadays), that limits the medicine available patients.

Moreover, patients remain concerned they’re going to have to drive long distances just to get the stuff since there’s going to be so few dispensaries example. Additionally, medical insurance won’t apply to medical marijuana–even though it’s "medical".

Here’s a glimpse at some more absurdity in New York:

    The draft regulations, which run more than 100 pages, are often painfully precise. One section forbids patients to drink or eat on the premises of a dispensary, unless “necessary for medical reasons.” Another says that other than patients and their caregivers, no person — not even a plumber or a swaddled infant, for instance — would be allowed into a dispensary without the written consent of the Health Department and an employee escort at all times. [The New York Times]

The Times says the state will license five companies this year and then New York’s dispensaries will finally open next year. But you probably won’t be able to get the stuff–and if you can, there’s probably better options both on the black market and in Colorado.

Especially if you want to smoke a joint.

:weedspin :weedspin :weedspin