Bill Text: NY A02566 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the content and procedure for certification by pharmacists of patients using medical cannabis; allows a pharmacist employed by a registered organization and responsible for supervising the dispensing of medical cannabis within a cannabis dispensing facility to recommend and certify patients upon consultation within such dispensing facility.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-17 - referred to higher education [A02566 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A02566-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2566

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 17, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  McDONALD,  LUPARDO,  HUNTER -- read once and
          referred to the Committee on Higher Education

        AN ACT to amend the cannabis law, in relation to certification by  phar-
          macists of patients using medical cannabis

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 30 of the  cannabis  law  is  amended  to  read  as
     2  follows:
     3    §  30.  Certification of patients. 1. A patient certification may only
     4  be issued if:
     5    (a) the patient has a condition,  which  shall  be  specified  in  the
     6  patient's health care record, if applicable;
     7    (b)  the  practitioner by training or experience is qualified to treat
     8  the condition;
     9    (c) the patient is under the practitioner's continuing  care  for  the
    10  condition; [and] or
    11    (d)  in  the  practitioner's  professional  opinion and review of past
    12  treatments, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic  or  palliative
    13  benefit  from  the  primary  or adjunctive treatment with medical use of
    14  cannabis for the condition.
    15    2. The certification shall include:
    16    (a) the name, date of birth and address of the patient;
    17    (b) a statement that the patient has a condition and  the  patient  is
    18  under the practitioner's care for the condition;
    19    (c)  a  statement  attesting  that [all requirements] a requirement of
    20  subdivision one of this section [have] has been satisfied;
    21    (d) the date; and
    22    (e) the name, address, telephone number,  and  the  signature  of  the
    23  certifying practitioner.
    24    The board may require by regulation that the certification shall be on
    25  a form provided by the office. The practitioner may state in the certif-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04111-01-5
        A. 2566                             2

     1  ication  that,  in  the practitioner's professional opinion, the patient
     2  would benefit from medical cannabis only until a specified date.    [The
     3  practitioner  may state in the certification that, in the practitioner's
     4  professional opinion, the patient is terminally ill and that the certif-
     5  ication shall not expire until the patient dies.]
     6    3.  In  making a certification, the practitioner may consider the form
     7  of medical cannabis the patient should consume, including the method  of
     8  consumption and any particular strain, variety, and quantity or percent-
     9  age of cannabis or particular active ingredient, and appropriate dosage.
    10  The  practitioner  may  state in the certification any recommendation or
    11  limitation the practitioner makes, in [his or  her]  the  practitioner's
    12  professional  opinion,  concerning  the  appropriate  form  or  forms of
    13  medical cannabis and dosage.
    14    4. Every practitioner shall make a reasonable effort  to  consult  the
    15  prescription  monitoring  program  registry prior to making or issuing a
    16  certification, for the  purpose  of  reviewing  a  patient's  controlled
    17  substance  history.  For  purposes  of  this section, a practitioner may
    18  authorize a designee to  consult  the  prescription  monitoring  program
    19  registry  on  [his or her] the practitioner's behalf, provided that such
    20  designation is in accordance with section  thirty-three  hundred  forty-
    21  three-a of the public health law.
    22    5.  The  practitioner  shall  give  the certification to the certified
    23  patient, and place a copy in the patient's health  care  record  if  the
    24  patient is under the practitioner's continuing care.
    25    6.  No practitioner shall issue a certification under this section for
    26  themselves.
    27    7. A registry identification card based on a certification  shall  not
    28  expire [one year after the date the certification is signed by the prac-
    29  titioner], except as provided for in subdivision eight of this section.
    30    8.    (a) If the practitioner states in the certification that, in the
    31  practitioner's professional opinion,  the  patient  would  benefit  from
    32  medical  cannabis only until a specified earlier date, then the registry
    33  identification card shall expire on that date; and
    34    (b) [if the practitioner states in the certification that in the prac-
    35  titioner's professional opinion the patient is terminally ill  and  that
    36  the  certification  shall  not  expire  until the patient dies, then the
    37  registry identification card shall state that the patient is  terminally
    38  ill  and  that  the registration card shall not expire until the patient
    39  dies; (c) if the practitioner re-issues the certification  to  terminate
    40  the  certification  on an earlier date, then the registry identification
    41  card shall expire on that date and shall be promptly  destroyed  by  the
    42  certified  patient;  (d)  if the certification so provides, the registry
    43  identification card shall state any recommendation or limitation by  the
    44  practitioner  as  to the form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for
    45  the certified patient; and (e) the] The board  [shall]  may  make  regu-
    46  lations to implement this subdivision.
    47    9.  (a) A certification may be a special certification if, in addition
    48  to the other requirements for a certification, the  practitioner  certi-
    49  fies  in  the  certification that the patient's condition is progressive
    50  and degenerative or that delay in the patient's certified medical use of
    51  cannabis poses a risk to the patient's life or health.
    52    (b) The office shall create the form to be used for a special  certif-
    53  ication  and  shall  make  that form available to be downloaded from the
    54  office's website.
    55    10. Prior to issuing a certification a practitioner must complete,  at
    56  a  minimum,  a two-hour course as determined by the board in regulation.
        A. 2566                             3

     1  For the purposes of this article a person's status as a practitioner  is
     2  deemed  to  be  a  "license"  for  the  purposes of section thirty-three
     3  hundred ninety of the public health law and shall be subject to the same
     4  revocation process.
     5    11. Notwithstanding any other law, rule, or regulation, any pharmacist
     6  employed  by  a  registered organization and responsible for supervising
     7  the dispensing of medical cannabis within a cannabis dispensing facility
     8  shall be deemed an authorized practitioner able to recommend and certify
     9  patients upon consultation within such dispensing facility provided that
    10  such pharmacist has completed  the  two-hour  course  required  by  this
    11  section  and  registered  with  the office.   The fee for such a certif-
    12  ication shall not exceed twenty-five dollars.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.