New York State is set to legalize and regulate cannabis for adult-use, and improve our existing medical marijuana and hemp programs by April 1st with the 2020-2021 NYS Budget. But our work isn’t over yet and we need to fight for SMART legalization now more than ever!
Read MoreNew York: An Analysis of Governor Cuomo’s Legalization Proposal
/Governor Andrew Cuomo has included a plan to “regulate, restrict, and control” the responsible adult use of cannabis in New York, known as the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act (“CRTA”). A complex and comprehensive plan laid out in over 200 pages of legislative text, the CRTA would implement one of the most tightly regulated, highly taxed and heavily controlled legal cannabis markets in the world.
Read MoreBusiness as usual in New York, cannabis continues to be decriminalized
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New York - The New York State Senate and Assembly passed legislation (S.6579A/A.8420A), to continue decriminalizing cannabis in our state. The bill lowers the fines associated with possessing small amounts of cannabis, under 2 ounces, to be up to $200. This bill also introduces a retroactive expungement mechanism into our criminal justice system, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands.
This “decriminalization” bill that is currently waiting for the Governor to sign into law, does nothing to end arrests for cannabis possession. Instead, the bill reduces penalties for public use and burning to a violation that can still ultimately lead to arrest. Cannabis was decriminalized by New York in 1977, and yet millions of people have been arrested since then and we became the cannabis arrest capital of the country.
NY: Bill To Allow Emergency Access to Medical Cannabis
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New York: Allow Emergency Access to Medical Cannabis!
New York legislators have introduced a bill to require the Commissioner of Health to establish emergency access to medical cannabis programs and to provide medical cannabis for patients whose serious condition is progressive and degenerative or patients for whom a delay in access to medical cannabis would pose a serious risk to the patient's life or health, before the implementation of the State's medical cannabis program, which is not expected to be operational until January 2016 or later.
The Compassionate Care Act originally contained a provision to allow emergency access to medical cannabis in New Yrok, which was removed by Governor Cuomo in the negotiations leading to its passage. Since then, three young girls have died from being denied expedited access to the medicine they needed and many families with children who need access to medical cannabis have left New York State.
Look up your senators contact information here and assemblymembers contact info here.
Below you will find a simple script to guide you through a call and a sample letter for you to email or mail. Call to Senator/Assemblymember's office:
Hello, I am a constituent of the [Senator OR Assemblymember] and my name is [Your Name] and I live at [Your Address or zip-code] and I would like to leave a message for the [Senator OR Assemblymember].
I would like to urge they support Senate Bill 5086 and Assembly Bill 7060, which would require the Commissioner of Health to establish a program to provide emergency access to medical cannabis for patients who can't wait for a robust program to be operational.
Thank you for your time, have a nice day.
You can use this text, or modify as you see fit, and mail / email it to them to show your support for the sick and dying patients in this state by allowing emergency access to medical cannabis.
Letter to Senator/Assemblymember text:
Subject:
Allow New Yorkers with Progressive and Degenerative Serious Conditions Emergency Access to Marijuana
Body:
Dear Honorable [Senator OR Assemblymember] [Rep's Last Name here]
I'm urging you to support Senate Bill 5086 and Assembly Bill 7060, which would require the Commissioner of Health to establish a program to provide emergency access to medical cannabis for patients whose serious condition is progressive and degenerative or for whom delay in the patient's certified medical use of cannabis poses a serious risk to the patient's life or health, before the implementation of the State's medical marijuana program, which is not expected to be operational until January 2016 or later.
The Compassionate Care Act originally contained an emergency access provision, which was removed by Governor Cuomo and Senator Skelos in the negotiations leading to its passage. Since then, three young girls have died from not being able to access the medicine they needed.
Whether or not you supported the Compassionate Care Act, I encourage you to support Senate Bill 5086 and Assembly Bill 7060, because the most critically ill New Yorkers can’t wait until next year for their medicine.
Best Wishes, [Your Name Here] [Your Address/Zip code here]
Action Alert: NY Emergency Access bill Assembly health committee vote for emergency access to medicinal cannabis [4/28/15]
/Action Alert for the NY Emergency Access bill
Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried's NY Emergency Access bill to create an emergency access program for patients with the most urgent needs is getting voted on by Assembly Health Committee TODAY. let's get it passed and force the Senate and Gov. Cuomo to act!
How to help:
1. Call Speaker Carl Heastie at (518) 455-4800 and ask him to bring the NY Emergency Access bill to a floor vote as soon as possible.
2. Call your Assembly member (if you don't know who that is, go to http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/search/) at his or her Albany office and ask him or her to support A. 7060, the emergency medical marihuana program bill;
Sample Script: Please note - You will get a live person when calling within normal business hours. " Hi, My name is _______ ______, I am a NYS Resident.
I would like to leave a message for Speaker Heastie and my support for A. 7060, a bill to provide Emergency Access to medical marijuana.
I want to urge the speaker to support the NY Emergency Access bill and bring it to the floor for a full vote. Thank you for your time, have a nice day!"
Remember: Be polite, care and share!