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Medical Marijuana 102: NYS Registered Organizations and Dispensaries

August 15, 2017

This blog post is the second in a series of articles discussing the current state of the law in New York regarding medical marijuana. To read the first post in the series, Medical Marijuana 101: The State of the Law in NY, click here.

One of the biggest questions that people have when discussing medical marijuana in New York is where can patients obtain medical marijuana products.

Before a patient can obtain medical marijuana products, he or she must first be issued a certification for medical marijuana by a practitioner, who is registered with the NYS Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana Program, and obtain a Registry Identification Card. Patients can then use that Registry Identification Card to visit a dispensing facility to obtain medical marijuana products. We’ll dive into the requirements imposed upon patients and certifying physicians in our next post and concentrate today on registered organizations and dispensaries.

Registered organizations are responsible for the manufacturing and dispensing of medical marijuana in New York State. At the time that the medical marijuana program was launched in 2016, New York approved five registered organizations: Columbia Care NY LLC, Etain, LLC, MedMen, Inc. (formerly known as Bloomfield Industries Inc.), PharmaCann LLC and Vireo Health of New York LLC (formerly known as Empire State Health Solutions).

On August 1, 2017, the NYS Department of Health announced that it has licensed five new companies to join the original five: Valley Agriceuticals, LLC, Citiva Medical LLC, PalliaTech NY, LLC, NYCanna LLC and Fiorello Pharmaceutics, Inc.

Valley Agriceuticals and Citiva are authorized to bring dispensaries to Brooklyn, Pallia and NYCanna are expected to open somewhere in Queens, and Fiorello Pharmaceutics is authorized to open a dispensary in Manhattan. Each of the new registered organizations received authority to open dispensing facilities in other delineated areas of New York as well. Under the Compassionate Care Act, each registered organization is authorized to have up to four dispensing facilities, meaning that there could be up to forty dispensing facilities statewide if each registered organization is fully developed.

Registered organizations must manufacture medical marijuana products in an indoor, enclosed, secure facility located in New York State and may only manufacture medical marijuana products in forms approved by the Commissioner of Health. These forms include liquid or oil preparations for metered oromucosal or sublingual administration or administration per tube; metered liquid or oil preparations for vaporization; and capsules for oral administration. Smoking, as of now, is not an approved route of administration. On August 10, 2017, the NYS Department of Health proposed broadening the acceptable forms to include ointments, patches, lozenges and chewable tablets.

A certified patient can go to any dispensing facility of a registered organization in New York. This provides greater options to patients as not every dispensing facility sells the same types of medical marijuana. There are currently two New York State-mandated products for medical marijuana which require set ratios of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the two main chemicals used in manufacturing medical marijuana. Those two products must be offered by each registered organization, but a registered organization may also offer other products at the dispensing facility that have varying ratios of THC to CBD. It is expected that other products will be offered over time.

In addition, certified patients who are unable to go to a dispensing facility may designate a caregiver who can go for them. Registered organizations are also permitted to offer delivery services to patients and designated caregivers to help expand access to those who are unable to travel to a dispensing facility.

As you might imagine, dispensing facilities are subject to a number of regulations in order to ensure that patient health is properly protected. Among other requirements, dispensing facilities must (1) have a licensed NYS pharmacist on site to directly supervise the facility when open, (2) not sell items other than medical marijuana products approved by the NYS Department of Health, (3) not allow the consumption of the medical marijuana by the patient at the facility, (4) not allow certified patients or their caregivers to consume any food or beverages at the facility unless necessary for medical reasons, (5) maintain a visitor log, and (6) firmly affix a patient-specific dispensing label approved by the Department of Health that is easily readable and includes a delineated list of items. The regulations allow dispensaries to provide up to a 30-day supply of medical marijuana to a certified patient.

Dispensing facilities, as well as the manufacturing facilities operated by registered organizations, must also meet a number of security regulations. Registered organizations must also provide an electronic report to the NYS Department of Health of all approved medical marijuana products that are dispensed within 24 hours after the medical marijuana was dispensed to the certified patient or designated caregiver.

Now that we have a basic understanding of registered organizations and dispensing facilities, check back soon for Medical Marijuana 103: Patient and Physician Regulations in New York State.