On Monday, January 13th, dozens of patients, families, caregivers and healthcare providers will gather in Albany for a press conference and lobby day to call upon Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Senate to pass the Compassionate Care Act — A.6357-A (Gottfried) / S.4406-A (Savino) . The patients are living with cancer, multiple sclerosis, severe seizure disorders, and other serious, debilitating medical conditions, and the families include parents of children who suffer from severe forms of epilepsy, such as Dravet’s syndrome. Travelling from all corners of the State, they will call on the Senate to pass and the Governor to support the Compassionate Care Act – comprehensive legislation that would allow seriously ill New Yorkers access to medical marijuana under the supervision of their healthcare provider.
The event comes on the heels of Governor Cuomo’s announcement Wednesday in his State of the State address that he supports medical marijuana. While this is a very good development, patients families, caregivers and healthcare providers are deeply concerned about the Governor’s current proposal — a very narrow and limited research pilot study based on a 1980 law, which experts have called unworkable and patients and caregivers believe will not help those in need.
What: Press Conference with patients, healthcare providers, and parents
When: Monday, January 13th at Noon
Location: Outside Senate Chambers Capitol Building Albany, NY
After the Press Conference, the group will go to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office
Who (dozens of patient and providers, including):
Dawn Carney, resident of Mount Vernon, living with HIV/AIDS
Kate Hintz, mother from North Salem, whose daughter, Morgan suffers from Dravet’s
Missy Miller, mother from Long Island whose son, Oliver, has a severe seizure disorder
Nancy Rivera, grandmother from Troy and four-time cancer survivor
Susan Rusinko, mother from Auburn, living with MS
Eileen Konieczny, RN, oncology nurse with more than twenty years of bedside nursing experience
Sunil Aggarwal, MD, PhD, physician, medical cannabis researcher, and co-chair of NY Physicians for Compassionate Care
Eighty-two percent of New Yorkers support medical marijuana, and twenty states and the District Columbia have passed laws creating legal access to medical marijuana for seriously ill patients.
Source: Drug Policy Alliance – make a donation
