New York ‘s Marijuana Regulations For Would Be Dispensaries

On Tuesday, December 16, 2014, New York state released proposed regulations to regulate the medical-marijuana system within the state. This 120 page document proposes applicants pay a non-refundable $10,000 fee and a check for $200,000 which is refundable if the applicant is not selected to be part of the program.

I understand many organizations implement non-refundable applicant fees as a way of covering costs associated with processing the applications and to underhandedly generate revenue, but $10,000 and it is non-refundable? That means applicants will be throwing away $10,000 because only 5 applicants will be registered.

For those applicants selected as registered organizations, the $200,000 registration fee will cover all of the registered organization’s manufacturing and dispensing facilities for a period of two-years.

The medical marijuana system won’t be available until one year’s time. New York’s requested to import marijuana from other states for emergency purposes for people who could immediately benefit from the access to medical marijuana, but the federal Department of Justice denied the request. New York state officials said they are presently working on pilot applications with individual hospitals that could give sufferers access just before January 2016.

The document thoroughly lists regulations to track the manufacturing and sale of the product, and to ensure quality control. It appears the regulations are aimed towards reducing the likely of recreational marijuana use, which I think is a great idea. This is about providing the medical benefits of marijuana to patients who need it, and is not about getting high. The forms of medical marijuana considered are oils, vaporization, and capsules.

“Form” of medical marihuana shall be a type of a medical marihuana product approved
by the commissioner and shall refer to the final preparation of an approved medical marihuana brand; for example, an extract in oil for sublingual administration, an extract for vaporization or an extract in a capsule for ingestion.

Each registered organization may initially produce up to five brands of medical marihuana product with prior approval of the department. These brands may be produced in multiple forms as approved by the commissioner. Thereafter, additional brands may be approved by the department. However, in no case shall marihuana in unprocessed whole flower form be made available to certified patients.

The locations of the medical marijuana facilities are also taken into account:

Registered organizations shall not:… locate a dispensing facility on the same street or avenue and within one thousand feet of a building occupied exclusively as a school, church, synagogue or other place of worship…

The proposed regulations will be published in the Dec. 31 New York State Register, and the public will have 45 days to comment on the proposed regulations.

View the medical-marijuana program proposed regulations here.

Tags: Benefits of Medical Marijuana, cannabis cures, cannabis paste, medical marijuana