The state "Health Department" said last Thursday that it is a developing regulation to allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with chronic pain, although it has yet to define what symptoms will qualify as chronic pain.
"100-million people in the U.S. have medically chronic pain, which is defined as pain for more than 15 days a month,' as stated by Dr. Laszlo Mechtler's, DENT Neurologic Institute.
"Medical marijuana is already helping thousands of patients across New York State, and adding chronic pain as a qualifying condition will help more patients and further strengthen the program."- As stated by Health Commissioner Howard Zucker.
The "Health Department" said it developing a proposed regulatory amendment to the law that took effect in January that legalized medical marijuana in New York in non-smoke able forms and for specific medical conditions.
The state has 10 conditions that qualify for medical marijuana usage: cancer, HIV infection or AIDS; Lou Gehrig's disease; Parkinson's disease; multiple sclerosis; spinal damage; epilepsy; inflammatory bowel disease; neuropathies; and Huntington's disease. To prescribe medical marijuana, medical professionals need to take an online course. Patients then need to get approval from their doctor and enroll online.
"About 750 physicians have registered to prescribe medical marijuana, and 10,730 patients have been certified by their doctors," as claimed by the Health Department. The move is the latest loosening of New York's medical marijuana law, which is among the most stringent in the nation and has drawn criticism from patients and advocates for its restrictiveness.
New York has five certified companies that grow and sell marijuana, and each has four dispensaries. The state is also considering expanding the number of companies that can sell and grow medical marijuana, as well as making public the list of doctors who can prescribe the drugs. Several medical experts in the state say that Medical Marijuana is a step in the right direction.
