NY Bill

From USA Today:
"NY Legislature passes medical marijuana bill; Cuomo to sign"

New York will become the latest state to legalize medical marijuana after the Senate on Friday passed a bill allowing the drug in non-smokeable form. After a lengthy, emotional debate, the Senate voted 49-10 to approve the bill, which would authorize marijuana for therapeutic purposes for patients with serious diseases or conditions like cancer, AIDS and epilepsy. The Assembly approved the bill around 2:45 a.m. Friday, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo has already pledged his support. As lawmakers voted, advocates for medical marijuana — including parents with their young, epileptic children — watched from a gallery above the chamber floor, applauding loudly as Senate clerk announced the final vote. The bill would require the state to have its medical-marijuana program up and running within 18 months. It would expire after seven years, though Cuomo could suspend the program at any time if State Police of the Department of Health find it is being abused. Patients would not be able to smoke the drug, though vaporizing and oil-based cannabis extracts would be authorized. It grants broad authority to the state health commissioner to oversee the system and certify doctors who can prescribe the drug. When signed by Cuomo, New York will become the 23rd state to approve medical marijuana in some form, according to the Drug Policy Alliance. Several other states, like Utah and Florida, have approved cannabidiol, a cannabis extract, for medical purposes.

^ It is one thing to make medical marijuana legal and another to put the law into force. My state made it legal years ago and yet it still hasn't come into force (leaving the sick and dying still without its use.) Hopefully, New York can move it along faster. I can't understand why only 23 (out of 50) states and very few countries allow marijuana for medical use since it can help with pain management. ^

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/20/ny-set-to-legalize-medical-marijuana-/11033195/