Pubdate: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 Source: Times Union (Albany, NY) Copyright: 2014 Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation Contact: http://www.timesunion.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/452 Author: Adam Scavone LETTER: NEW YORKERS BACK MEDICINAL USE - TIMES UNION If Gov. Andrew Cuomo is worried about political fallout from supporting medical marijuana, he need not worry. When medical marijuana was the focus of debate in 2010, polling data showed a significant majority of New Yorkers - as high as 71 percent in one poll - were in favor. Our Northeastern neighbors - in Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, New Jersey and Delaware - all have medical marijuana statutes, and those states have not descended into chaos. New Jersey has strict rules to ensure patients' supplies of marijuana are monitored and that licensed producers' operations are secured. Producers face lost licenses or criminal charges if found to be derelict. New York's legislators should also look to Delaware's statute, which requires that all medical marijuana be tested for safety. Patients with compromised immune systems should not be exposed to mold spores, pesticides or other contaminants. These same testing facilities can standardize doses and monitor cannabinoid content, and they can provide chain-of-custody solutions such as sealed and batch-numbered, bar-coded containers. Finally, doctors could be granted the authority to decide whether a patient has access to whole plant marijuana for use in vaporizers or by other means of inhalation, or whether the patient will be limited to oral preparations such as oils, tinctures and edible products infused with medical marijuana. ADAM SCAVONE New York Cannabis Alliance Brooklyn - --- MAP posted-by: Matt