STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — New Yorkers with PTSD will soon be eligible to treat their symptoms with medical marijuana after the state Senate passed Sen. Diane Savino’s bill Tuesday, adding the ailment to those already included in the Compassionate Care Act.
The Assembly bill to add PTSD, which was sponsored by Assemblyman Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), passed last month.
ALBANY — New York state lawmakers are gaining momentum in a measure to expand medical marijuana coverage to those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Currently, medical marijuana in New York can only be used to treat serious illnesses such as cancer and Lou Gehrig’s disease.
The New York Daily News reports the Democrat-controlled Assembly approved a measure that adds PTSD to the list of state-approved ailments that doctors can prescribe medical marijuana as treatment. The bill will now move to the Republican-controlled Senate.
The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Richard Gottfried of Manhattan, says there’s evidence that medical marijuana is effective in treating PTSD.
New York launched its medicinal marijuana program last year.
(Video here: http://www.twcnews.com/nys/capital-region/capital-tonight-interviews/2017/05/2/gottfried-raia-krawitz-050217.html )
A bill expand the state’s medical marijuana program to include post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is moving at the capitol, and advocates are feeling optimistic about its chances of passage this year. They argue that other states have demonstrated pot can be used to relieve anxiety and depression, without the side-effects of other prescription medications typically used to treat those problems. And they say it’s especially important to give more options to veterans. Joining us to talk more about this is Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, who chairs the health committee, health committee ranking minority member Assemblyman Andrew Raia, and Mike Krawitz of Veterans for Medical Cannabis.
I represent Chelsea, Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, and parts of Murray Hill and the Lincoln Center area in the State Assembly. I have been chair of the Assembly Health Committee since 1987. During off hours, I like to write Chinese calligraphy.
