ALBANY (AP) -- Former talk show host Montel Williams will be in Albany today to urge the state Legislature to pass a law legalizing medical marijuana.
Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses medical marijuana to help ease the pain of his illness. He says New York's bill would create one of the best regulated systems in the country for providing seriously ill patients with safe and effective access to medical marijuana on a recommendation from their doctor.
Since 1996, 14 states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws and more than a dozen state legislatures considered the issue this year. Residents of Arizona and South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana ballot initiatives this November.
Under New York's bill, the state health department would regulate pharmacies and dispensaries licensed to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients.
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