Albany, NY: Members of New York’s state assembly voted 92-52 on Wednesday in favor of legislation that would authorize qualified patients to use medicinal cannabis under a doctor’s supervision.
If approved, Assembly Bill 4867 would allow authorized patients to possess two-and-a-half ounces of cannabis and/or twelve marijuana plants for therapeutic purposes. A similar measure is expected to be debated by members of the Senate imminently.
Democrat Governor Eliot Spitzer, who had previously campaigned against the use of medical cannabis, announced this week that he has reversed his position.
If enacted, New York will become the thirteenth state since 1996 to legalize the use of medical cannabis, and it will be the second state legislature to do so this year.
Similar legislation was recently approved by the Connecticut legislature and is awaiting action by the governor.
For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul@norml.org. To learn more about pending state legislation, please visit NORML’s Take Action Center at: http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/?style=D.