The New York State Cannabis Control Board today approved the filing of proposed Medical Cannabis Program regulations for public comment that will implement certain provisions of the state’s new Cannabis Law, including updates to the program designed to consider environmental impacts and create efficiencies. The regulations also include technical changes to the regulations to formally shift the program from the Department of Health to the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) as envisioned by the Cannabis Law.
The regulations were advanced by the Cannabis Control Board (the Board) during a virtual meeting held today. The OCM will now file the regulations in the State Register, which will then kick off a 60-day public comment period.
“With today’s action, we’re continuing to swiftly implement critical provisions of the new Cannabis Law to maintain and expand access to the Medical Cannabis Program and the relief it provides to thousands of New Yorkers,” Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright. “Already, we’ve empowered practitioners to freely determine if medical cannabis is best for their patients, expanded the types of practitioners who can certify patients, and lowered costs. The regulations issued today build on those successes to reduce environmental waste, further protect our youth, and provide flexibility and efficiencies to the program; helping set it up for long-term success and stability for the patients who rely upon it.”
“Expanding and further supporting the Medical Cannabis Program is a key part of the new Cannabis Law, ensuring that patients maintain access to the guidance of health care professionals for the medicinal cannabis products that will help them most,” said OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander. “We look forward to connecting with and hearing from New Yorkers on these proposed regulations.”
The regulations make programmatic changes to reduce environmental impacts and create efficiencies as they implement aspects of the new Cannabis Law -- -- called the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act -- including:
- Allowing registered organizations to accept packaging for reuse and modifying packaging and labeling requirements to support it, reducing waste created by the industry;
- Further prohibitions to packaging and labeling that advertises to youth;
- Removing restrictions on naming conventions for products, paving the way for products to include names of various cannabis strains;
- Allowing flexibility for pharmacists to provide their services remotely while maintaining a minimum pharmacist staffing requirement for each dispensary to ensure patients have access to medication guidance from a health care professional;
- Replacing the overburdensome requirement that Registered Organizations maintain continuous video surveillance for 24 hours a day to allow for motion-activated recording after business hours; and
- Allowing OCM to modify product testing requirements as necessary rather than through regulation, providing critical flexibility to protect public health.
These changes build on previous actions taken by the Board and the OCM to vastly expand the Medical Cannabis Program as they’ve implemented the Cannabis Law, including: allowing the certification of a patient by a practitioner for any condition that the practitioner believes can be treated with medical cannabis; the sale of whole flower; the expansions of the types of practitioners who can certify patients for the program; and the permanent elimination of the $50 registration fee. These changes are already in place and will remain so.