Gov. Cuomo To Announce New Stance On Medical Marijuana This Week
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo has changed his position on medical marijuana and will push a plan to administer the drug to sick patients in New York State, CBS 2 has learned.
The announcement is expected to be made in his State of the State address later this week, it has caught some people off guard and has some supporters of medical marijuana worried.
"I couldn't believe it. I mean we were like, 'it's finally happening,'" Carely Tagney-Decker told CBS 2's Lou Young.
News of the decision gave Tagney-Decker and her husband Jeff new hope and new worries.
Their daughter Mabel-Grace has a rare neurological disorder that experts say can be treated by the active ingredients in pot. But, if New York does come to their rescue it must be done correctly.
"You have to grow it specifically. It's got to be tested in the lab. It's got to be put in a form that's an edible form," Carley said, "She can't smoke a joint. I don't want her smoking a joint. That's not what this is about."
The Deckers have been pushing for a medical marijuana law in New York since they received their daughter's diagnosis. The couple has focused mainly on State Senators but Governor Cuomo plans to bypass the legislature and use an existing public health law to legalize medical marijuana through an executive order.
The lack of a consensus has many people concerned.
"I don't think he needs to reinvent the wheel. He wants to do it by himself and I know where that goes, nowhere," Jeff said.
The governor plans to use hospitals to dispense the drug to appropriate patients but it remains unclear where the medicinal cannabis will come from or in what form.
Political opponents said that without details legalizing pot in any form is reckless.
"We need to make sure that the process is just that, a process, and not one man dictating what we're going to do this," Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino said.
Concerned parties plan to listen to Governor Cuomo carefully when he broaches the subject in his speech. In the meantime the Deckers plan to take their daughter to Colorado for immediate treatment.
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