NY State Senate Bill 2021-S4646

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 05, 2022	referred to health
Feb 08, 2021	referred to health

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3360, Pub Health L

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Defines a serious condition regarding the medical use of marihuana as a condition, or symptom or complication of the condition or its treatment, for which, in the practitioner's professional opinion and review of past treatments, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from primary or adjunctive treatment with medical use of medical marihuana.

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S4646

SPONSOR: SAVINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the definition of
a serious condition regarding the medical use of marihuana

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To remove the statutory list of eligible conditions for medical marihua-
na, and allow medical marijuana to be certified and used for a severe
debilitating or life-threatening condition if, in the practitioner's
professional opinion and review of past treatments, the patient is like-
ly to receive therapeutic or palliative benefit from it.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1: - Amends the definition of "serious condition" in subdivision
7 of PHL § 3360 to include any severe debilitating or life-threatening
condition, or symptom or complication of the condition or its treatment,

for which, in the practitioner's professional opinion and review of past
treatments, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic or palliative
benefit from primary or adjunctive treatment with medical use of medical
marihuana.

Section 2: Effective date: immediate.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There is no pharmaceutical product other than medical marijuana for
which the State restricts its use to a limited list of medical condi-
tions. The State has, in all other cases, deferred to medical profes-
sionals to decide which prescriptions are appropriate in which cases for
which conditions, consistent with medical training and expertise.

Administrative actions expanding the existing conditions list, as
authorized by statute, have benefited patients. However, practitioners
continue to have a lack of clarity about which conditions are actually
covered. If they look in Public Health Law, they would find that "severe
or chronic pain" is covered when associated with a limited list of
certain other conditions; if they look in regulation, that "any severe
debilitating pain that...degrades health and functional capability" is
covered but only "where the patient has contraindications, has experi-
enced intolerable side effects, or has experienced failure of one or
more previously tried therapeutic options; and where there is documented
medical evidence of such pain having lasted three months or more beyond
onset, or the practitioner reasonably anticipates such pain to last
three months or more beyond onset."

As medicine advances, it should not take acts of the Legislature or the
Department to add or remove conditions. Practitioners are already
required to take a 4-hour marihuana-specific course in order to recom-
mend it, a requirement that does not apply to any prescription medica-
tion - including schedule II controlled substances. Further restricting
providers' ability to exercise professional judgment through a
restricted conditions list is impractical, confusing to practitioners,
and limits appropriate patient access.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018 Session - New bill. - S7755 - referred to Health 2019-20 Session -
S2058 - referred to Health

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4646
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 8, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the definition  of
   a serious condition regarding the medical use of marihuana
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 7 of section 3360 of the public health law,  as
 added  by chapter 90 of the laws of 2014 and paragraph (a) as amended by
 chapter 273 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   7. [(a)] "Serious condition" means[:
   (i) having one of the following severe debilitating or  life-threaten-
 ing conditions: cancer, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus
 or  acquired  immune deficiency syndrome, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
 Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of
 the spinal cord with objective neurological  indication  of  intractable
 spasticity,   epilepsy,   inflammatory   bowel   disease,  neuropathies,
 Huntington's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, pain that degrades
 health and functional capability where the use of medical  marihuana  is
 an alternative to opioid use, substance use disorder, or as added by the
 commissioner; and
   (ii) any of the following conditions where it is clinically associated
 with,  or  a  complication  of,  a condition under this paragraph or its
 treatment: cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe or chronic pain;  severe
 nausea; seizures; severe or persistent muscle spasms; or such conditions
 as are added by the commissioner.
   (b)  No  later  than  eighteen  months from the effective date of this
 section, the commissioner shall determine whether to add  the  following
 serious  conditions:  Alzheimer's,  muscular  dystrophy, dystonia, post-
 traumatic stress disorder and  rheumatoid  arthritis]  A  CONDITION,  OR
 SYMPTOM OR COMPLICATION OF THE CONDITION OR ITS TREATMENT, FOR WHICH, IN
 THE  PRACTITIONER'S  PROFESSIONAL OPINION AND REVIEW OF PAST TREATMENTS,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD00041-01-1

 S. 4646                             2
 
 THE PATIENT IS LIKELY TO RECEIVE THERAPEUTIC OR PALLIATIVE BENEFIT  FROM
 PRIMARY OR ADJUNCTIVE TREATMENT WITH MEDICAL USE OF MEDICAL MARIHUANA.
   §  2.  This  act shall take effect immediately, provided however, that
 the amendments to title 5-A of article 33 of the public health law  made
 by section one of this act shall not affect the expiration and repeal of
 such title and shall expire and be deemed repealed therewith.

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Senate Bill S4646

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S4646

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Sponsored By

Diane J. Savino

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Details

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2021-S4646 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments