This post was originally published on this site.
Adult-use cannabis is finally legal in New York and dispensaries catering to an audience interested in recreational consumption have started to open. Yet, at the time I am writing this, many New Yorkers outside of the New York City metro area must still drive multiple hours to purchase legal, adult-use cannabis.
While this is an unfortunate inconvenience, it’s a drive I know many of my friends will take in order to support the legal industry and one they won’t have to make forever when more of the over 200 current adult-use dispensary license holders start to open their locations.
But unless the Office of Cannabis Management approves more medical cannabis dispensaries, a multi-hour drive is still in the future for thousands of patients who rely on medical cannabis.
Related: NY’s medical marijuana program suffering as state focuses on a recreational market
There are over 120,000 New Yorkers currently enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program. They can only purchase medical cannabis from the 38 dispensaries that are approved to sell medical-quality products. The lack of medical cannabis dispensaries is a burden for everyone in the program, but it is a particular problem for patients who live in more rural areas, as many of the current medical cannabis dispensaries are clustered in more populated cities.
Just as it is unacceptable to expect people to devote hours of their lives, money on gas, and wear-and-tear on their vehicles to access insulin or amlodipine, it is unacceptable to expect that from people trying to access medical cannabis.
While I am excited for more adult-use dispensaries to open, they are not a replacement for medical dispensaries. Medical cannabis dispensaries are required to have a pharmacist on staff who can help provide product recommendations for specific ailments and support patients as they combine cannabis with other medications that have been prescribed by their doctors.
Medical cannabis dispensaries ensure that products are consistent in both makeup and availability so that once patients discover what works for their health, they won’t be without treatment. And medical cannabis dispensaries can keep prices lower because they are able to offer discounts and specials that are illegal for adult-use dispensaries. As medical cannabis isn’t covered by insurance, accessibility to lower cost medical cannabis is vital to many in the program.
The OCM plans to approve 300 Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary Licenses (CAURD), doubling the number of licenses originally planned. This aggressive licensing will help dispensaries open faster, support people and communities negatively impacted by cannabis prohibition, and contribute to the expected economic benefit of the cannabis industry. But the OCM must also be aggressive when it comes to medical cannabis, issue more medical cannabis licenses and allow more medical cannabis dispensaries to open.
For me and many others who rely on medical cannabis, consuming the plant is more than a hobby or for our enjoyment — it has transformed our lives for the better. While the opening of adult-use dispensaries in New York should be a call for celebration, if those who need cannabis for our livelihoods still can’t access their medicine, it’s hard to feel enthusiastic about the overall progress of our legal industry.
As a traumatic brain injury survivor whose symptoms are alleviated by medical cannabis, Nikki Lawley is a passionate advocate for and patient of New York’s medical program. She is based in Buffalo and formerly worked as a pediatric nurse.