Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Staten Island, New York - Despite becoming legal in New York in January, obtaining medical marijuana can be a challenge for Staten Island patients who meet the qualifications for a prescription.
For starters, there are no dispensaries in the borough. And it doesn't look like there will be any in the near future.
Also, there isn't a state Health Department listing of doctors who have obtained certification to be able to write prescriptions for medical marijuana. And according to the Health Department, there won't ever be one.
There is, however, a state referral system for physicians. If a doctor isn't certified to prescribe medical marijuana, he or she can look at the state Heath Department's portal for a doctor who is certified in order to be able to refer a patient.
But that leaves the patient suffering from one of the qualifying conditions - including seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV/AIDS and more - at the mercy of his or her primary physician.
What if a primary doctor doesn't believe in the use of medical marijuana to treat an illness?
"Your doctor can find you a referring physicians, but if he/she refuses to do so, you have a problem," said Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), who sponsored the Senate bill that created the program, but is unhappy with the process patients have to go though to find a prescribing doctor.
"Patients are waiting and it's unfair to finally have access to something that, after years of suffering and being forced to rely on highly dangerous drugs, to be denied because they can't get access to a physician who would be willing to treat them," said Savino.
FEW DOCTORS HERE PARTICIPATING
Because of this, Savino has had ongoing discussions with the Department of Health to make the list of certified doctors public.
"It's incumbent upon the Department of Health to come up with a solution for this problem. If they are going to become the custodian of a list and they're not going to allow it to be published then they have to figure out a way for patients who inquire and are eligible to have access to a referral. Let the Health Department do the referral then," said Savino.
However, a Health Department official said the agency is "prohibited by law" from publishing a full list of the doctors who participate. It's part of the New York State Personal Privacy Protection Law.
"We are prohibited from posting a participating physician without their consent. What we could do is publish a list of physicians who consent online. We've asked them about that, and most of them didn't want to be listed," said a Health Department official.
He said doctors expressed concerns about their offices being vandalized by criminals who might think the medical marijuana is stored on the premises. Another issue doctors voiced was being inundated with patients they couldn't accommodate, said the Health Department official.
ANOTHER LIMITATION
Only doctors can be certified to write medical marijuana prescriptions, so to expand the program, Savino is suggesting that the Health Department also allows nurse practitioners to become certified.
"The law allows the Health Department commissioner to add nurse practitioners without us passing an amendment. Nurse practitioners have stated publicly they are very in favor of this law," said Savino.
STEPS FOR PATIENTS TO TAKE
The process of obtaining a prescription for medical marijuana is as follows:
Make sure you suffer from one of the qualifying conditions as listed on the state Department of Health website.
Inquire with your primary doctor. If he or she isn't certified to write a medical marijuana prescription, you can ask the physician to go to the Health Department portal for a referral.
But once you have a prescription, you can't just fill it at a dispensary. You must register with the Health Department to be approved to obtain the drug. If the Health Department gives you the OK, then you'll receive an identification card that will allow you to fill your prescription.
ONE RESOURCE AVAILABLE
One website, MarijuanaDoctors.com, offers a listing of doctors who pay to advertise their services and availability on the site. The website is free for patients to use, and doctors pay a nominal monthly fee to be listed on the website, said Rose Myint, operations director for the Long Island-based MarijuanaDoctors.com.
To date, Dr. Azher Siddiqi of S.I. Medical Practice Associate in Dongan Hills is the only Staten Island doctor listed on MarijuanaDoctors.com.
After being certified by the state in March, Dr. Siddiqi said he has 25 patients to whom he's prescribed medical marijuana.
Dr. Melissa Larusso, a rheumatologist with Regional Orthopedics in Bulls Head, is a specialist who is registered with the state and has two patients using medical marijuana.
"There's no way for the public to find out who they can see, and I think some doctors don't know where to get the information for a referral," said Larusso.
NO DISPENSARY HERE
Noting that with nearly all legislation comes compromise, Savino said: "We decided to restrict the program to five license holders and 20 dispensaries."
With no dispensary on Staten Island, the closest place to fill a medical marijuana prescription is in Manhattan.
"The reason we don't have one on Staten Island is, quite frankly, the people here didn't want one. There were two license holders looking at Staten Island and Staten Islanders didn't want it," said Savino.
"Part of the license was you had to show you had community support, and here they encountered opposition. ... The sad thing is now Staten Islanders have to travel to get their prescriptions," she added.
But this adds another level of inconvenience - and cost - for patients.
For this reason, Savino has proposed that the Health Department offer a courier service from other New York City-based dispensaries to people's homes.
The state Health Department wouldn't comment about whether that would be something the state would approve.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: A Challenge For Staten Island Patients
Author: Tracey Porpora
Contact: 718 981 1234
Photo Credit: Tracey Porpora
Website: Staten Island NY Local News
For starters, there are no dispensaries in the borough. And it doesn't look like there will be any in the near future.
Also, there isn't a state Health Department listing of doctors who have obtained certification to be able to write prescriptions for medical marijuana. And according to the Health Department, there won't ever be one.
There is, however, a state referral system for physicians. If a doctor isn't certified to prescribe medical marijuana, he or she can look at the state Heath Department's portal for a doctor who is certified in order to be able to refer a patient.
But that leaves the patient suffering from one of the qualifying conditions - including seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, cancer, HIV/AIDS and more - at the mercy of his or her primary physician.
What if a primary doctor doesn't believe in the use of medical marijuana to treat an illness?
"Your doctor can find you a referring physicians, but if he/she refuses to do so, you have a problem," said Sen. Diane Savino (D-North Shore/Brooklyn), who sponsored the Senate bill that created the program, but is unhappy with the process patients have to go though to find a prescribing doctor.
"Patients are waiting and it's unfair to finally have access to something that, after years of suffering and being forced to rely on highly dangerous drugs, to be denied because they can't get access to a physician who would be willing to treat them," said Savino.
FEW DOCTORS HERE PARTICIPATING
Because of this, Savino has had ongoing discussions with the Department of Health to make the list of certified doctors public.
"It's incumbent upon the Department of Health to come up with a solution for this problem. If they are going to become the custodian of a list and they're not going to allow it to be published then they have to figure out a way for patients who inquire and are eligible to have access to a referral. Let the Health Department do the referral then," said Savino.
However, a Health Department official said the agency is "prohibited by law" from publishing a full list of the doctors who participate. It's part of the New York State Personal Privacy Protection Law.
"We are prohibited from posting a participating physician without their consent. What we could do is publish a list of physicians who consent online. We've asked them about that, and most of them didn't want to be listed," said a Health Department official.
He said doctors expressed concerns about their offices being vandalized by criminals who might think the medical marijuana is stored on the premises. Another issue doctors voiced was being inundated with patients they couldn't accommodate, said the Health Department official.
ANOTHER LIMITATION
Only doctors can be certified to write medical marijuana prescriptions, so to expand the program, Savino is suggesting that the Health Department also allows nurse practitioners to become certified.
"The law allows the Health Department commissioner to add nurse practitioners without us passing an amendment. Nurse practitioners have stated publicly they are very in favor of this law," said Savino.
STEPS FOR PATIENTS TO TAKE
The process of obtaining a prescription for medical marijuana is as follows:
Make sure you suffer from one of the qualifying conditions as listed on the state Department of Health website.
Inquire with your primary doctor. If he or she isn't certified to write a medical marijuana prescription, you can ask the physician to go to the Health Department portal for a referral.
But once you have a prescription, you can't just fill it at a dispensary. You must register with the Health Department to be approved to obtain the drug. If the Health Department gives you the OK, then you'll receive an identification card that will allow you to fill your prescription.
ONE RESOURCE AVAILABLE
One website, MarijuanaDoctors.com, offers a listing of doctors who pay to advertise their services and availability on the site. The website is free for patients to use, and doctors pay a nominal monthly fee to be listed on the website, said Rose Myint, operations director for the Long Island-based MarijuanaDoctors.com.
To date, Dr. Azher Siddiqi of S.I. Medical Practice Associate in Dongan Hills is the only Staten Island doctor listed on MarijuanaDoctors.com.
After being certified by the state in March, Dr. Siddiqi said he has 25 patients to whom he's prescribed medical marijuana.
Dr. Melissa Larusso, a rheumatologist with Regional Orthopedics in Bulls Head, is a specialist who is registered with the state and has two patients using medical marijuana.
"There's no way for the public to find out who they can see, and I think some doctors don't know where to get the information for a referral," said Larusso.
NO DISPENSARY HERE
Noting that with nearly all legislation comes compromise, Savino said: "We decided to restrict the program to five license holders and 20 dispensaries."
With no dispensary on Staten Island, the closest place to fill a medical marijuana prescription is in Manhattan.
"The reason we don't have one on Staten Island is, quite frankly, the people here didn't want one. There were two license holders looking at Staten Island and Staten Islanders didn't want it," said Savino.
"Part of the license was you had to show you had community support, and here they encountered opposition. ... The sad thing is now Staten Islanders have to travel to get their prescriptions," she added.
But this adds another level of inconvenience - and cost - for patients.
For this reason, Savino has proposed that the Health Department offer a courier service from other New York City-based dispensaries to people's homes.
The state Health Department wouldn't comment about whether that would be something the state would approve.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: A Challenge For Staten Island Patients
Author: Tracey Porpora
Contact: 718 981 1234
Photo Credit: Tracey Porpora
Website: Staten Island NY Local News
