Medical cannabis in NYC still matters
Yes — New York's medical cannabis program is still running alongside adult-use legalization, and 906 New York City healthcare providers appear in the state's public directory of practitioners who can certify patients (2672 statewide, as of October 12, 2026). Any practitioner registered with the program can certify a patient for any condition they believe cannabis may help manage — the fixed condition list was abolished — and certified patients get benefits adult-use buyers don't, including access to medical dispensary pricing, higher possession limits, and availability from age 18 with a caregiver structure for minors.
The medical program at a glance
- • 906 NYC providers appear in the state directory.
- • Any registered practitioner can certify, for any condition they judge appropriate.
- • Patients 18+ qualify; adult-use requires 21.
- • Medical purchases carry different tax treatment.
- • Registered Organizations run the medical dispensaries.
- • Counts checked against state records on October 12, 2026.
Certifying providers per borough
| Borough | Providers |
|---|---|
| Manhattan | 546 |
| Brooklyn | 164 |
| Queens | 99 |
| Bronx | 63 |
| Staten Island | 34 |
Most common provider specialties
| Specialty | NYC providers |
|---|---|
| Internal medicine | 160 |
| Family practice | 139 |
| Psychiatry | 94 |
| Pain management | 70 |
| Anesthesiology - pain management | 54 |
| Neurology | 47 |
| Palliative care | 32 |
| General medicine | 31 |
Medical cannabis: common questions
Why would anyone get certified when they can just buy legally at 21?
Practical reasons remain: medical purchases are taxed differently and often cheaper for regular use, possession limits are higher for patients, patients aged 18–20 have legal access adult-use buyers don't, and Registered Organization dispensaries maintain medical-side menus and pharmacist consultations. Whether any of that matters is between a patient and their practitioner — this is general information, not medical advice.
Who can certify a patient in New York?
Any physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant who has registered with the state's program — the fixed specialist list is gone. The state publishes a directory of participating providers who opted into public listing; it spans family practice, psychiatry, internal medicine, pain specialties and more. Find one through the state's official medical cannabis pages, which include the searchable provider directory.
Where do certified patients buy?
At dispensaries operated by the state's Registered Organizations — the original medical operators, several of which now also serve adult-use customers from the same locations. Our NY brands pages map those companies (Rise, Curaleaf, Sunnyside, Verilife, The Botanist, Cannabist and others) to their state licenses.
NY brands & their licensed operators · NYC cannabis statistics · All questions
Educational information about New York's medical cannabis program — NOT medical advice, and no claims about cannabis treating any condition. Certification decisions belong to patients and their practitioners. Individual providers are not listed here; use the state's official directory. Source: data.ny.gov medical-cannabis provider dataset, retrieved October 12, 2026.