NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A1149
SPONSOR: Gottfried
 
TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
authorization to prescribe controlled substances
 
PURPOSE:
To allow practitioners who are authorized to prescribe controlled
substances to certify patients for medical marijuana use.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends subdivision 12 of § 3360 of the public health law to
allow any practitioner authorized to practice under title 8 of the
education law and authorized to prescribe controlled substances to
certify patients for use of medical marijuana.
Section 2: Effective date - 60 days after becoming law, provided however
that the commissioner shall immediately make regulations and take other
actions necessary for implementation.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The Compassionate Care Act medical marijuana law initially allowed only
physicians to certify patients and directed the Commissioner to consider
including nurse practitioners (NPs). Later, both NPs and physician
assistants (PAs) were added by regulation.
Patients in need should not be denied access to critical medication
simply because they are treated by the "wrong" type of practitioner.
Providers authorized to write prescriptions for much more dangerous
controlled substances should be able to certify for medical marijuana,
within the appropriate existing guidelines for such certifications.
Several categories of health care practitioners other than physicians,
NPs, and PAs may prescribe controlled substances. In many cases, these
practitioners may have the most substantial knowledge of the patient's
eligible condition and appropriate treatment (for example, a podiatrist
or dentist treating severe chronic pain in the foot or mouth, respec-
tively).
Health care practitioners who can write prescriptions for other
controlled substances should be allowed to certify patients for medical
marijuana. As is the case today, such practitioners would be required to
register with the Health Department and meet training requirements; be
qualified to treat the particular eligible condition and acting within
their scope of practice; documenting certifications both to the Depart-
ment and in the patient's medical record; and consult the prescription
monitoring program (I-STOP) prior to certification.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017-2018 A8915: Reported to 3rd reading / Senate Health
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Tax revenue from increased participation in medical marijuana program
would more than offset the cost of registering additional practitioners.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
60 days after becoming law, provided however that the commissioner shall
immediately make regulations and take other actions necessary for imple-
mentation.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1149
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, LUPARDO, D'URSO, ABINANTI, WRIGHT,
M. G. MILLER, SIMON, WEPRIN, LIFTON, ZEBROWSKI, McDONOUGH, MORINELLO,
JAFFEE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to authorization to
prescribe controlled substances
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 12 of section 3360 of the public health law, as
2 added by chapter 90 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:
3 12. "Practitioner" means a practitioner who (i) is [a physician]
4 authorized by this article to prescribe a controlled substance, is
5 licensed [by New York state and practicing within the state] or other-
6 wise authorized to practice under title eight of the education law, and
7 is acting within his or her lawful scope of practice, (ii) [who] by
8 training or experience is qualified to treat a serious condition as
9 defined in subdivision seven of this section; and (iii) has completed a
10 two to four hour course as determined by the commissioner in regulation
11 and registered with the department; provided however, a registration
12 shall not be denied without cause. Such course may count toward board
13 certification requirements. [The commissioner shall consider the inclu-
14 sion of nurse practitioners under this title based upon considerations
15 including access and availability. After such consideration the commis-
16 sioner is authorized to deem nurse practitioners as practitioners under
17 this title.]
18 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
19 have become a law; provided that, effective immediately, the commission-
20 er of health shall make regulations and take other actions reasonably
21 necessary for this act to take effect on that date; and provided further
22 that the amendments to subdivision 12 of section 3360 of the public
23 health law made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal
24 of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03796-01-9