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New York moves forward with medical marijuana expansions

The state Department of Health on Tuesday officially filed amendments and proposed rules for New York's medical marijuana program that will allow it to authorize nurse practitioners and physician assistants to certify patients.

Those expansions are not surprising and conform with proposals DOH issued in August.

The department also said it expects to make a decision by the end of the month regarding the use of medical marijuana for patients suffering from chronic pain.

The tweaks were part of the department's two-year progress report, which was issued in August. Other recommendations that the department says it is continuing to implement include increasing the number of laboratories that are certified to test medical marijuana products and registering five additional organizations that can grow marijuana and produce drugs over two years.

"The first year of New York's Medical Marijuana Program has been a success," state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement. "Over 10,500 patients have been certified by more than 740 registered physicians to date. Authorizing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to certify patients will only help to further strengthen the program and improve patient access."

Read more at Times Union
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