Big news New Yorker’s regarding New York Medical Marijuana! If you who suffer from chronic pain, cannabis will now be a legal option for treatment without breaking state laws. According to the state Department of Health (DOH) New York State Medical Marijuana Program as of Dec. 1 adding chronic pain to a list of qualifying conditions for the state’s medical marijuana program.
The DOH proposal to add chronic pain as a qualifying condition allows medical professionals to recommend cannabis for pain only after other all therapeutic options — such as opioid painkillers — have failed. Practitioners would be forbidden from recommending marijuana if they believe their patient’s pain will ease in three months or less.
Eliminating Pain with Medical Marijuana
New York’s medical marijuana program, approved by state legislators and signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014, was launched in January 2016. Nearly 12,000 patients have been certified to use medical marijuana, according to the Department of Health. That’s .04 percent of New York’s 19.79 million people, and according to the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the lowest participation rate in the nation.
The Health Department has announced plans to allow nurses and physician’s assistants to certify patients for the drug. Since the program was launched in January, more than 10,500 patients have been certified by more than 740 physicians in New York.
Medical providers who could give you a cannabis recommendation are located right in your back yard Long island. Meet Dr. Matthew Kalter in Smithtown, NY — Visit KalterPMR.com and learn more about treatment options for chronic pain — including medical marijuana. Kalter PMR is located at Kalter Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, PC 496 Smithtown Bypass, Suite 306 Smithtown, NY 11787. Got questions about medical marijuana for chronic pain? Call to schedule an appointment: 631-257-1137
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