NY Health Chief: New York Planning on Having Medical Marijuana Program Running Within a Year

Nirav Shah made the comment at a legislative budget hearing

ALBANY — New York plans to have its medical marijuana program functioning within a year, according to the state's top health official.

Nirav Shah testified as part of a legislative budget hearing on Monday, where he was grilled by lawmakers on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to use a little-known 1980 law to allow a limited number of hospitals to prescribe marijuana to chronically ill patients.

"My goal is to get this up and running as soon as possible, and using federal sources for product, we can get it up and running within a year," Shah said.