Medical Marijuana Prescribing

.
Dr. Reiss is registered in New York State to prescribe Medical Marijuana.

The initial visit will be about 45 minutes, for $265.  You should bring in all radiology reports, lab tests and physician records that support any of the following diagnoses - these being the only conditions NYS allows Medical Marijaua to be prescribed for:

  • cancer;
  • chronic pain - as defined by 10 NYCRR §1004.2(a)(8)(xi) see below;
  • neuropathies;
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD);
  • multiple sclerosis;
  • Parkinson's Disease;
  • epilepsy;
  • Huntington's Disease;
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease);
  • damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity;
  • positive status for HIV or AIDS;
  • post-traumatic stress disorder;
  • any condition for which an opioid could be prescribed, provided that the precise underlying condition is expressly stated on the patient’s certification.
    .
    Patients must also have one of the following associated or complicating conditions: cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, or severe or persistent muscle spasms.
    .

The doctor will discuss your need for canibas, its known benefits and limitations, suggest the best forms and strengths for different times of the day, and (assuming qualifications are met) register you with the state for medical marijuana use.  You will also receive before departing a printed sheet prescribing the doses and forms (typically sublingual tinctures, vaporization oil and/or oral capsules).  After, you'll need to sign up online with the state's program (a usually-easy process) and wait (commonly about a week) to receive in the mail an ID card from them with your driver license photo on it.  That card and the printed prescription you'll then take to a licensed dispensory, where you can obtain a monthly supply that runs on average around $200-250.

Follow-up visits (a half-hour long) to assess your status and make any adjustments will be required ongoing every six months thereafter - this to maintain your Marijuana certification.  The cost per these visits is $200.

.

.

.
Please note that Medicare does NOT pay for office visits where Medical Marijuana has been prescribed.  These visits will be a non-reimbursable out-of-pocket expense if that is your primary insurance.

The same is likely true if you have commercial insurance - even a good plan, since cannabis is still a federal Schedule 1 Controlled Substance.  Contact your plan for their New York policy for when obtaining Medical Marijaua is the sole reason for the visit.
.

 


10 NYCRR §1004.2(a)(8)(xi), on the NYS Codes, Rules and Regulations website here, reads, "Any severe debilitating pain that the practitioner determines degrades health and functional capability; where the patient has contraindications, has experienced intolerable side effects, or has experienced failure of one or more previously tried therapeutic options; and where there is documented medical evidence of such pain having lasted three months or more beyond onset, or the practitioner reasonably anticipates such pain to last three months or more beyond onset."