I have spent years working at the intersection of cannabis law, policy and business — as an attorney, a professor and as an advocate for a more just and equitable industry. Now I have a new title: patient.
In this role, which I have taken on since my breast cancer diagnosis, I have confronted firsthand the many drawbacks of the very system I spent my career trying to improve.
I have been a registered New York medical cannabis patient since 2016 when the program was first implemented. What started as a method of managing PTSD has evolved into a necessary tool as I recover from cancer, providing pain relief, better sleep, anxiety management and overall wellbeing.
NY patients need access to medical grade cannabis
In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult for me and thousands of other patients to access high-quality medical grade cannabis. Thanks to a combination of market deterioration and regulatory challenges, the program has slowly atrophied. Today, it risks complete extinction, due to a change in the 2024-25 state budget that will make it nearly impossible for medical cannabis companies to continue operating in this state.
The Hochul administration inexplicably pushed codification of a multimillion-dollar fee required for medical operators to enter the adult use market, which would provide a much-needed revenue boost to ensure dispensaries can continue to serve patients. The governor and state lawmakers agreed to this despite repeated warnings that it will likely lead to more dispensary closures and perhaps the complete demise of the medical program.
There is still time before this legislative session ends for lawmakers to do something to take the edge off for the floundering medical cannabis program. The state Senate recently passed an omnibus bill designed to make it easier for patients to access the medications they need. The Assembly must do the same before leaving Albany later this month.
The number of registered medical cannabis patients has fallen over the past half-decade, from 150,000 in 2019 to barely 96,000. The number of medical-only dispensaries has dropped to 31 statewide, though the 2021 Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which legalized adult use cannabis, allows for as many as 80, leaving entire regions without access — including just one each in the North Country and Mohawk Valley.
While New York has expanded opportunities for newly registered medical operators, these businesses are still operating under different rules than their adult-use counterparts, making it harder for them to survive. Without policy changes, these new operators will struggle. Patients will continue to be forced into the adult-use or illicit markets.
In the face of the fee codification, the state Senate has passed some clear, common-sense solutions to help shore up the medical program and ensure that cannabis policy serves those who need it most.
That starts by eliminating the 3.15% excise tax on medical cannabis. Removing this tax, which is not applied to other medications, would lower costs and improve patient access, as will extending patient certifications to two years and increasing the limit on the supply of medications they can purchase.
In addition, New York does not allow out-of-state medical cannabis patients to purchase from dispensaries, creating unnecessary barriers for tourists, business travelers and seasonal residents who rely on cannabis as medicine. Allowing medical reciprocity, as the state Senate bill does, would bring New York in line with national standards while supporting patients who visit or temporarily reside in the state.
As an attorney advising cannabis businesses and a professor teaching cannabis law and regulation to undergraduate and graduate students, I see firsthand how cannabis policy shapes industry access, economic opportunity and public health outcomes.
Teaching cannabis law is an intellectual exercise. Living it as a patient is something else entirely. The stark contrast between the promises of legalization and the reality of medical cannabis access in New York is undeniable. What we teach about the policy goals of equity, access, and patient care does not match what is happening on the ground.
That gap must be closed. This is a moment of decision for assembly members, and I strongly urge them to follow the state Senate’s lead. Because cannabis legalization was never just about business. It was about justice, public health, and ensuring the plant is accessible to those who need it most.
There is still time to get it right.
Kristin L. Jordan is a New York cannabis attorney, advocate and educator who is Special Counsel at Harris Beach Murtha.
