NY Cannabis § 30 (2021)
2021 New York Laws CAN - Cannabis Article 3 - Medical Cannabis 30 - Certification of Patients.

§  30.  Certification of patients. 1. A patient certification may only be issued if:  (a) the patient has a condition,  which  shall  be  specified  in  the patient's health care record;  (b)  the  practitioner by training or experience is qualified to treat the condition;  (c) the patient is under the practitioner's continuing  care  for  the condition; and  (d)  in  the  practitioner's  professional  opinion and review of past treatments, the patient is likely to receive therapeutic  or  palliative benefit  from  the  primary  or adjunctive treatment with medical use of cannabis for the condition.   2. The certification shall include: (a) the name, date  of  birth  and address of the patient; (b) a statement that the patient has a condition and  the patient is under the practitioner's care for the condition; (c) a statement attesting that all requirements of subdivision one  of  this section  have  been  satisfied; (d) the date; and (e) the name, address, telephone number, and the signature of the certifying practitioner.  The board  may  require  by  regulation that the certification shall be on a form  provided  by  the  office.  The  practitioner  may  state  in  the certification  that,  in  the  practitioner's  professional opinion, the patient would benefit from medical cannabis only until a specified date. The  practitioner  may  state  in  the  certification   that,   in   the practitioner's  professional  opinion, the patient is terminally ill and that the certification shall not expire until the patient dies.   3. In making a certification, the practitioner may consider  the  form of  medical cannabis the patient should consume, including the method of consumption  and  any  particular  strain,  variety,  and  quantity   or percentage  of cannabis or particular active ingredient, and appropriate dosage.  The  practitioner  may   state   in   the   certification   any recommendation  or  limitation  the  practitioner  makes,  in his or her professional opinion,  concerning  the  appropriate  form  or  forms  of medical cannabis and dosage.   4.  Every  practitioner  shall  consult  the  prescription  monitoring program registry prior to making or issuing  a  certification,  for  the purpose  of  reviewing  a  patient's  controlled  substance history. For purposes of this section, a practitioner may  authorize  a  designee  to consult  the  prescription  monitoring  program  registry  on his or her behalf, provided that such designation is  in  accordance  with  section thirty-three hundred forty-three-a of the public health law.   5.  The  practitioner  shall  give  the certification to the certified patient, and place a copy in the patient's health care record.   6. No practitioner shall issue a certification under this section  for themselves.   7.  A  registry  identification  card  based  on a certification shall expire one year after the  date  the  certification  is  signed  by  the practitioner,  except  as  provided  for  in  subdivision  eight of this section.   8. (a) If the practitioner states in the certification  that,  in  the practitioner's  professional  opinion,  the  patient  would benefit from medical cannabis only until a specified earlier date, then the  registry identification  card  shall expire on that date; (b) if the practitioner states in the certification  that  in  the  practitioner's  professional opinion  the  patient is terminally ill and that the certification shall not expire until the patient dies, then the registry identification card shall state that the patient is terminally ill and that the registration card shall not expire until the patient dies; (c)  if  the  practitioner re-issues the certification to terminate the certification on an earlier  date,  then  the  registry identification card shall expire on that date and shall be promptly destroyed by the certified  patient;  (d)  if  the certification  so provides, the registry identification card shall state any  recommendation  or limitation by the practitioner as to the form or forms of medical cannabis or dosage for the certified patient;  and  (e) the board shall make regulations to implement this subdivision.   9.  (a) A certification may be a special certification if, in addition to  the  other  requirements  for  a  certification,  the   practitioner certifies   in   the  certification  that  the  patient's  condition  is progressive and degenerative or that delay in  the  patient's  certified medical use of cannabis poses a risk to the patient's life or health.  (b)  The  office  shall  create  the  form  to  be  used for a special certification and shall make that form available to be  downloaded  from the office's website.   10.  Prior to issuing a certification a practitioner must complete, at a minimum, a two-hour course as determined by the board  in  regulation. For  the purposes of this article a person's status as a practitioner is deemed to be a  "license"  for  the  purposes  of  section  thirty-three hundred ninety of the public health law and shall be subject to the same revocation process.