Medical marijuana patients and advocates allege the state agency responsible for regulating the cannabis industry is letting New York’s medical program crumble as it instead focuses its attention on setting up a recreational marketplace.
The Office of Cannabis Management has been slow to expand medical marijuana, is plagued by technology problems, and has been been ignoring patient concerns as it tries to catch up after a delayed start in establishing the recreational marketplace, patients and others tell NY Cannabis Insider.
As a result, frustrated patients – some suffering from depression, anxiety, migraines, and the effects of chemotherapy – are stuck with long delays to enroll in the medical program and are unable to get the care they need. Instead of adding patients, New York is watching them bail, with some resorting to the grey market – which hurts the state’s ongoing effort to take control of the industry.
“New York is transitioning to adult-use and simultaneously has systematically weakened its medical program and made it as inaccessible as possible,” said Ngiste Abebe, president of the NY Medical Cannabis Industry Association and vice president of public policy at Columbia Care. [Read more at Syracuse.com]
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