Since January 1, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been making efforts to legalize the use of medical marijuana in the state of New York.  Cuomo has formed a proposal with the intent of reviving a 1980 medical marijuana law that would permit a number of hospitals in New York to prescribe the drug.

To implement the use of medical marijuana in New York, Cuomo has had to act without the support of the legislature.  Though his efforts are legal, some believe that acting without legislation could limit the success of Cuomo’s proposal.

“[Cuomo] can take [this step] without the need for further legislation,” a representative of the Manhattan legislature said to CNN.  “But to have a truly comprehensive and well-working system will take legislation.”

Part of Cuomo’s proposal is a system that will grant the state health department with the power to set rules for hospitals that will prescribe medical marijuana.  Marijuana is to be administered on a person-by-person basis, meaning that a panel of doctors will review a patient’s case and deem him or her either eligible or ineligible for a prescription.  Though this process granted New York citizen Missy Miller’s son a prescription, she believes that her son is being forgotten by the law.  Miller wants to import Charlotte’s Web, a strain of marijuana from Colorado for her son.  However, Miller will not be able to obtain the specific strain of marijuana due to the fact that on January 8 Cuomo made it known that while patients will be legally allowed to purchase medical marijuana by a doctor’s prescription, the marijuana the patients will receive can neither be home-grown nor imported from out of the state.

Though the law permitting the prescription of medical marijuana is seen as limiting and is not widely supported, Cuomo has hope that in the future the law will gain support and help a larger volume of patients in need.