Press Release: Medical Marijuana Bill Passes New York Senate Health Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

FEBRUARY 23, 2010

Medical Marijuana Bill Passes New York Senate Health Committee

CONTACT: Kurt A. Gardinier, MPP director of communications … 202-905-0738 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the New York State Senate Health Committee passed S. 4041-B, the Senate’s medical marijuana bill. This marks the second consecutive year that the bill has gotten out of the Senate Health Committee. The Assembly’s medical marijuana bill, A. 9016, passed the Health Committee last month and is now sitting in the Assembly Codes Committee.

         “We applaud the New York Senate Health Committee members for doing the right thing and taking this important step toward protecting sick and dying New Yorkers from arrest or jail,” said Noah Mamber, legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project. “Let’s hope New York legislators will follow the lead of New Jersey, the state next door, which is about to become the 14^th state to implement an effective medical marijuana law.”

         The New York State Assembly passed medical marijuana legislation in 2007 and 2008, but the issue has never gotten a Senate floor vote. For the first time in 2009, a Senate medical marijuana bill passed the Senate Health Committee, but progress stalled because of the Senate leadership struggle, which lasted until just before the legislature recessed.

         With more than 29,000 members and 124,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

####