Compassionate Care NY update

by | Jan 15, 2013 | Progressive News Network

Thank you for your interest in and help with the Compassionate Care Act (Assembly Bill 7347-B / Senate. 7283-A), which would establish a carefully regulated medical marijuana program to relieve the suffering of thousands of seriously ill New Yorkers. 

This is the first in a series of monthly email updates about the bill and the Compassionate Care NY (CCNY) campaign. 

We are also holding monthly calls to keep everyone up to date on the bill and campaign activities. Our next conference call is January 17th at 6 PM; to RSVP, please contact Alexis Posey at [email protected] or 212-613-8027 or click on this link to register: CCNY Conference Call Registration.

Quick Summary of the Campaign

With your help, Compassionate Care NY – a group of patients, healthcare providers, family members, and organizations – has reached thousands of everyday New Yorkers and dozens of elected officials across the state with our message that now is the time for New York to join eighteen other states and the District of Columbia in making access to medical marijuana legal.

Last session, the bill was reintroduced by Assembly Member Dick Gottfried and Senator Diane Savino. It passed the Assembly, but died in the Senate. This legislative session started January 9th,and Assm. Gottfried and Sen. Savino plan to reintroduce the measure.

What can you do right now to pass the Compassionate Care Act?

  • “Like” and “share” the Compassionate Care NY Facebook page.
  • Arrange for CCNY to come speak to a group you are involved with (e.g., professional association, church or synagogue, employees group, etc…).
  • Visit your state Senator and Assembly Member and tell them why you think it’s important for patients to have legal access to medical marijuana. CCNY can help you schedule and prepare for the meeting and can attend with you if you want.
  • Join our monthly calls to get the latest information about the bill and how to move it forward.  RSVP for our next call, January 17th from 6-7 PM.
  • Collect signatures of people who support medical marijuana in New York using the attached letter.
  • Distribute CCNY materials (contact us for fact sheets, stickers, rally signs).
  • Sign up for a Lobby Day in Albany (date TDB). 

To get involved in any of the activities – or for assistance with any of the above, contact me at [email protected] or 347-781-5435 or post a message on our Facebook page.

CCNY Advocates in the News
Compassionate Care NY advocates have been hard at work making sure their stories get in the news.

Dr. Julie Holland just published a powerful op-ed about marijuana as medicine.

In September, the fierce advocates at MS Resources of Central New York (MSRCNY) held a town hall on medical marijuana attended by over 170 MS patients, family members and healthcare providers. Panelist at the MSRCNY Town Hall: Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, Lisa Ellis, and Susan Rusinko.  News coverage of MSRCNY’s town hall included:

Susan Rusinko was also profiled in another story on the Syracuse Post Standard, and the piece explains how all the great advocacy in Syracuse has softened the position of a key Republican Senator, DeFrancisco:

Before the end of the year, Margaret Hart, an advocate living with MS in central New York, had a great op-ed published in the Syracuse Post Standard.  Read it here:

Dr. Sunil Aggarwal had a letter to the editor published in the New York Daily News.  Read it here:

Let us know what you’ve been doing to support the passage of the Compassionate Care Act, and if you have questions or suggestions for CCNY, please contact us. 

Together we can make 2013 the year that patients in New York get the relief they deserve!


Julie Netherland and the Compassionate Care NY Team