| Pat Arnow/Flickr. |
Medical marijuana patients should not be allowed to smoke cannabis, nor should they be allowed to share it with other patients. That’s the decree from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who says a medical marijuana proposal currently locked in state Senate committees needs major overhauls before he would ever consider signing it.
Also, if you fake an ailment for a recommendation, it should be a felony.
“These and other things would have to be included in any final legislation for the governor to consider supporting the legislation,” a Cuomo aide said this week. “We think there’s a lot of problems with the Gottfried-Savino bill. They haven’t thought it through–the public health and public safety point of views.”
Already the bill prohibits people under 21 from smoking cannabis, but Cuomo knows best apparently. According to his recommendations, only vaporizers, pills and edibles would be allowed.
Cuomo reached out to legislative leaders this week as they worked to iron out changes in a proposal and hopefully get the bill moved through the state senate before they adjourn later this month.
Among the other changes: culling the 20 conditions that could necessitate a medical marijuana card down to seven. Cuomo also said that 2.5 ounces per month is too much, and that the amount should be determined by a physician. Reciprocity with other state programs would also need to be removed from the bill, a Cuomo aide told the New York Daily News, which broke the story.
The bill is on a tight schedule if it has any hope of being passed this year. The session ends Thursday, so the bill must be rewritten, printed and in the hands of lawmakers by later tonight.