New York’s slow start has been gaining momentum in the past week. The state’s Health Department now reports a total of 165 patients and 225 doctors participating the program, though still not a large number, these figures have already doubled since the program launched and remained passive on its first few weeks.
According to dispensary operators, they are also starting to see more than the number of expected patients. Influx of patients has been beating expectations, according to Columbia Care’s Manhattan dispensary CEO, Nicholas Vita. Reports of positive patient count also come from Vireo Health in White Plains, PharmaCannis in Buffalo and Syracuse, and Bloomfield Industries also in Buffalo and Syracuse. JP O’Hare, Health Department Spokesman, released a statement expressing how pleased the agency is with the program’s current trend.
Brittany Barger, 27, diagnosed with ovarian cancer expressed how cannabis has helped make more good days for her. With the recovering medical cannabis program of New York, she is hopeful she can check more activities and experiences off her bucket list.
New York is still, however, known to have one of the strictest programs out of the 23 states that legalized medical marijuana. It is one of the few states to require physicians participating in the program to have training, allowing only cannabis extracts in pills and liquids, and having only ten qualifying conditions which does not include chronic pain.