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Abstract
On January 7th, 2016, New York became the 23rd state to roll out a medical marijuana program. The program’s start has been underscored by a growing recognition about the lack of patient access and the state’s lukewarm response to addressing the numerous barriers severely ill patients face in trying to access life-saving medicine. This report provides a systematic overview of the program’s problems and an evaluation of possible solutions. The report also details the lack of systematic data on various aspects of the program, which poses a significant challenge to program assessment and policy recommendation. Our two main recommendations are the passage of four bills that would significantly improve patient access and a listing of data measure that would assist policymakers and advocates in generating solutions to various problems associated with the program.
Gina Moreno
Senior Research Analyst
My research interests include criminal justice program evaluation, drug policy reform, and quantitative research methods