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.

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........

© The Leader