Rebekah F. Ward reports in the Times Union that three state legislators are urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo to start implementing New York's new medical cannabis program now. Previously, the Department of Health has said it is waiting for the formation of a new regulatory body, the Office of Cannabis Management. The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act that legalized adult-use cannabis in the state mandated the creation of that body. But medical cannabis was already legal in New York before that bill passed April 1, and it may take two years to get recreational cannabis sales started. State Senators Diane Savino and Liz Krueger, and Assemblyperson Richard Gottfried, say there are several "minimum" changes that could be implemented now that would "immediately strengthen and expand the medical cannabis program, improve patient access, and, perhaps most importantly, enable dispensaries to offer a more affordable product." Jill Montag, a health department spokesperson, responded, saying, "The changes to the program outlined in the MRTA require a series of regulatory and administrative changes including updates to product testing and sampling procedures as well as the program’s patient certification and inventory management systems." More than 150,000 certified patients and 3,000 registered practitioners have been involved in New York's medical cannabis program since it started in 2014. While medical cannabis companies did not expect the changes to take effect overnight, some patients are surprised at the delay. "You do see a lot of frustration from patients, you have a lot of people that call and they're asking, 'has anything changed?'" said Kevin Harbison, a pharmacist and manager of clinical services who supervises Albany’s Verilife dispensary, run by PharmaCann. Read more about this story in the Times Union.