New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is planning to announce an executive action this week that would permit limited use of medical marijuana, reports the New York Daily News.  Sources told the paper that Cuomo’s plan will allow only 20 hospitals across the state to prescribe marijuana to people with cancer, glaucoma or other diseases that meet standards established by the New York State Department of Health.  This move, while a major shift for Cuomo, will still mean that obtaining weed in New York will be far more difficult than it is in states like California, where marijuana is prescribed for a host of conditions including backaches and insomnia.

The shift is a major one for several reasons.  First, according to the New York Times, Governor Cuomo, a democrat, has long resisted legalizing medical marijuana.  However, as other states are taking increasingly liberal positions on it, there has been a huge demand for pot for medical and recreational use.  Additionally, this action would not amount to legalization, but is significant because it is in stark contrast to the current punishments for marijuana in New York.  The state has long been one of the nation’s most punitive states for those caught using or dealing drugs.  This puts New York at a significant step closer to policies being embraced by marijuana advocates and lawmakers elsewhere.

Earlier this year, Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent at CNN, practicing neurosurgeon, and winner of multiple Emmy awards, made a shift in his own position.  In 2009, Time Magazine reports that he was selected to be the Surgeon General by President Obama.  That announcement was made on the cusp of Colorado and Nevada considering ballot initiatives to legalize the personal use of marijuana.  That article explained that Dr. Gupta’s vote would be against legalization.  Dr. Gupta later withdrew himself from consideration for Surgeon General based on other controversies.

In his own 2013 article on the CNN website, Gupta discusses his change in position on the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.  He had been working for the past year on a documentary entitled “Weed,” which included speaking to experts, medical leaders, and patients.  With the majority of major studies focusing on negative effects and barriers to research on medical benefits, Dr. Gupta argues that the public is being systematically misled.  In 2009, he supported his position by citing these same major studies that he now criticizes as misleading.  Gupta apologized for not doing his part to dig deeper, but he now sees the benefits in considering marijuana as a potential part of medical therapy for patients.