Since New Jersey has already done it, perhaps New York will be next for legalizing medical marijuana. New York Magazine reports that Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Assemblyman, hopes that this is true. Apparently, he has tried to have it passed almost every year; however, he has yet to be successful.
The New York Times reports that the bill this year, that Gottfried helped to introduce, may pass. It reads: "The legislature finds that thousands of New Yorkers have serious medical conditions that can be improved by medically-approved use of marijuana. The law should not stand between them and treatment necessary for life and health" (New York State Assembly). The bill lists the people who would be eligible to use medical marijuana including people suffering from cancer, H.I.V./ AIDS or arthritis.
Gottfried went on to say that even though the idea is labeled as controversial, "other than the state Conservative Party, there has been little to no resistance. Even public opinion polls show overwhelming support."
As the counterpoint, Michael Long, of New York State's Conservative Party said, that to have this bill "when there is no medical proof that marijuana assists anyone anyway... would open the floodgates for misuse."
In 2004, the Ocean County Observer reported that Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young said in regards to a two-year study that medical marijuana relieves "the distress of great numbers of very ill people." He argues that for many sick and injured people, this could be a great benefit.
Related Resources:
- "Medical Marijuana Laws: New Federal Guidelines" (FindLaw Blotter)
- Could withholding this be negligence? (FindLaw)
- New York personal injury attorneys (FindLaw)
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