Emergency Medical Weed Is Coming to New York

After taking a ton of flack from patients' advocates, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reversed course on Wednesday and signed two bills to expedite the delivery of medical marijuana to people who desperately need it in the Empire State, as the New York Times reports.

Cuomo had previously approved the Compassionate Care Act, a 2014 bill that promises to establish 20 locations where a very small number of patients suffering from egregious diseases will get access to non-smokable pot. But that law is one of the most restrictive medical marijuana measures in the country, and doesn't take effect for two more months.

In a statement, the governor said he "deeply sympathized with New Yorkers suffering from serious illness, and I appreciate that medical marijuana may alleviate their chronic pain and debilitating symptoms."

Of course, according to the Associated Press, even the new emergency measure will only cover non-smokable pot—New York is a long way from Washington and other smoke-em-if-you-got-em states. Still, patients "whose serious condition is progressive and degenerative" are getting some love from state lawmakers, which is something.