After resisting it for years, Gov. Cuomo has finally relented on medical marijuana. According to the Times, Cuomo will announce an executive action this week that will allow use of the drug by those with serious illnesses. Apparently Cuomo doesn't share Bloomberg's belief that medical marijuana is one of the greatest hoaxes of all time.
The governor is expected to make the announcement during his State of the State address on Wednesday. The plan will allow only 20 hospitals across the state to prescribe marijuana to patients with serious illnesses such as cancer and glaucoma; the medical cannabis will only be available by prescription, and will have to meet strict standards set by the New York State Department of Health. Infrastructure will be in place to begin the program this year, although it's unclear exactly when.
After being stubbornly regressive early on in his tenure as governor, Cuomo has slowly revised his position on marijuana over the last two years. Last year he pushed for the decriminalization of small amounts of pot as part of the new state budget—but was met with Albany gridlock. This likely explains why Cuomo is bypassing the legislature completely by invoking a provision in the public health law known as the Antonio G. Olivieri Controlled Substance Therapeutic Research Program. Olivieri was a councilmember and state assemblyman who had a brain tumor and used marijuana to ease his complications from chemotherapy. Olivieri lobbied hard to legalize medical marijuana until his death at 39.
Cuomo is far from a "maverick" on the issue, as his support for bills legalizing or decriminalizing cannabis has been less than full-throated. And 82 percent of New York voters already approved of medical marijuana, according to a survey last year.
Naturally, Cuomo's plan was criticized by some Republican opponents for, as the Times put it, bolstering "his popularity with a large portion of his political base."
"Instead of dealing with social issues that appeal to his liberal base, he would be best doing all New Yorkers a favor and get New York back on track," said State Conservative Party chairman Mike Long.
But State Sen. Diane Savino, an outspoken advocate for medical marijuana who co-sponsored a legalization bill last year, praised him: "I think under his leadership, we can probably have the best, most-regulated, tightest-controlled system in the nation that provides real help for patients," she said.
One question: does David Brooks deserve all the credit, or only most of the credit?
