Anjanette Delgado

adelgado@lohud.com

Reporter David Robinson took questions Friday on Reddit about the issues snarling New York's medical marijuana program. Robinson's latest story on the subject found that the Department of Health mishandled the rollout and told the story of two families struggling to get help.

Read some of the Q&A highlights below, and visit Reddit to see the full discussion.

Question: What do you think are the largest setbacks in terms of allowing medical marijuana to be used for patients in need?

Answer: The largest setbacks are the legal problems. Some doctors, hospitals and universities are reluctant to participate because they don't want to lose federal grants. They also don't want to face penalties if federal policies toward medical marijuana change in the future.

Q: Have you covered medical marijuana in any other state or capacity? What differences or hurdles are you seeing in New York?

A: I've covered medical marijuana in Maine. I have also reported on its implementation nationally. The differences in New York include its limited list of eligible illnesses, which patient advocates say should be expanded. Some of the hurdles in NY include concerns about doctors addressing dosing when certifying patients. Some doctors, including several in the story, said that NY is exposing marijuana doctors to Drug Enforcement Administration penalties, such as having their registration to prescribe other controlled substances, revoked because of the dosing issue. DEA officials, however, declined to discuss the issue.

Q: Have you looked into where NY gets its supply?

A: Yes, I've reported extensively on the companies manufacturing and selling medical marijuana in NY. The state released application documents after one of my stories pointed out secrecy surrounding the process. I've also recently visited one of the 16 dispensaries currently selling non-smokeable forms of the drug. Here is a Q&A with one of the state's first patients, Brittany Barger, who has ovarian cancer.

Q: Why do doctors get so swayed by pharmaceutical companies? Is it pure cash? Is that a straightforward problem to legislate a solution for?

A: Pharmaceutical companies' influence on doctors is something that is being addressed through legislation and policy. For example, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have searchable databases on financial relationships between doctors and pharmaceutical companies. You can look at them here: https://www.cms.gov/openpayments/.

Q: Do you think there could be more transparency in terms of pharmaceutical companies' influence?

A: Yes, in terms of lobbying and campaign finance disclosures.

Q: What is the biggest stigma you encounter when you mention marijuana?

A: That it is a gateway drug.

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