New York has opened the nation’s first center that is intended to help doctors make sense of cannabis, a step that shows how sharply the state has moved from treating marijuana as a crime to treating it as a matter of public health.
The Center of Excellence for Cannabis Care and Health Equity, unveiled Thursday at Albany Medical Center by the state Office of Cannabis Management, will give clinicians evidence-based training and resources as marijuana use expands in the medical sector and everyday life. Officials cast it as the next phase of legalization, one focused less on opening dispensaries and more on what happens when a patient brings cannabis into the exam room.
The initiative grew out of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State agenda this year and will launch as a pilot program with medical schools and public health programs around the state.
