Matthew Hamilton reports in Capitol Confidential that the state Department of Health announced Nov. 30 that certain chronic pain ailments now qualify for New York's medical marijuana program. Currently, only a few maladies qualify for New York's program, and this announcement may make the program larger. As of Nov. 29, 10,730 patients have been certified by 750 registered physicians to use medical marijuana in the state. The DOH will soon publish for public comment a regulatory amendment, which will specify the chronic pain conditions that qualify patients for the program. Recently, the department also allowed certified nurse practitioners and physician assistants to allow medical marijuana treatment. “After conducting a thorough review of the scientific literature, it became clear that there may be certain benefits in the use of medical marijuana by patients suffering from chronic pain,” state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker said in a statement. “Medical marijuana is already helping thousands of patients across New York State, and adding chronic pain as a qualifying condition will help more patients and further strengthen the program.” Read the full story in Capitol Confidential, a Times-Union blog.