CAMPBELL HALL – Industry professionals from the local medical cannabis, or medical marijuana, sector advocated for the plant’s treatment potential and educated the Orange County business community on common stigmas, as well as the current facts about medical cannabis in New York.
At the Orange County Chamber of Commerce’s monthly membership breakfast Thursday, a panel featuring representation from Curaleaf, Pharmacann and Citiva, dispelled common misrepresentations often associated with the industry, shared specifics of production and what medical cannabis is used for.
According to panelists, medical cannabis is still too commonly viewed as a way to get legally high; however, on the contrary, the ultimate goal is the medical benefits provided to patients.
All people have naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors within their bodies and in addition to those, there are a myriad of different cannabinoids aside from the most commonly known two: CBD and THC.
Each person has a different amount of those naturally occurring receptors and some cannabinoids are more effective than others at treating certain ailments. This makes a cannabis prescription vary greatly from one patient to the next and much time is spent on finding the proper medication for the patient. With these factors and more to consider, patients are getting cannabis prescriptions tailor-made for their symptoms, with the possible psychoactive effects considered as a side-effect.
Practitioner Outreach Liaison for Curaleaf Dr. Stacia Woodcock said it’s possible, many times, that psychoactive effects can be avoided almost entirely while still affording the patient the optimal symptom relief. She said it is important people know that this is legitimate medicine, for legitimate patients and dispensaries are not akin to a Grateful Dead concert.
“It’s not that,” Woodstock said. “It’s baby-boomers with walkers and wheelchairs. It’s veterans with PTSD that need treatment and aren’t served by the current prescription medications that are out there. It’s patients with chronic pain, with arthritis. It’s not who you would expect to see. These are the patients we’re making a difference for with medical cannabis products.”
Additionally, medical cannabis in New York is highly regulated. Philip Wagner, an operations specialist for Pharmacann, said they have monthly state inspections, product testing and log checks. He said not only can any medical cannabis product in the state be traced back to the exact plant it came from, but facilities dealing with medical cannabis cannot even operate without active CCTV monitoring and a security detail.
There were only nine licenses awarded throughout the state to produce and provide medical cannabis, with the barrier to entry into the market estimated to be approximately $30 million. Orange County having such licensed companies within it makes the new industry significant to the local economy, officials say.
In terms of the economic impact, it has shown consistent growth and stability as a revenue generator. Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said the county has more confidence in revenue brought in through the medical cannabis industry than the casino, which was promised to be a large revenue generator initially, but has come up short of its anticipated success.
“The Governor’s office told us a year ago [regarding casino revenue], ‘Budget the whole thing, don’t worry about it.’ We’re being very cautious because we’re seeing those numbers coming in lower than anticipated,” said Neuhaus. “What’s going up higher, are medical marijuana money- the revenues that we were promised. That continues to be slowly and steadily going up.”
Currently, ailments that qualify for medical cannabis include HIV, MS, PTSD, various cancers, neuropathy and chronic pain; however, there is a more complete list at the state health department website. The list of qualifying conditions is constantly being updated as research and data increase.
Panelists from the medical cannabis industry encourage those interested in cannabis treatments to visit a dispensary where they can get more information from a pharmaceutical professional regarding treatments and medical cannabis evaluations, as well as to inquire with their physicians.
