Medical Marijuana In New York State: Patient-Advocates Who Built The Program Are Fighting To Access It

MEDFORD, New York — Grimacing, Donna Schwier rubs her left calf and looks out the window of her small basement-level apartment, tucked around the back of a suburban Long Island home. Outside, tree limbs are sagging under heavy new-fallen snow. That’s a concern, since cold and moisture exacerbate the fibromyalgia that has robbed Schwier of her career, her income and her identity.

“Today’s a reasonable pain day,” she says. “I am fresh out of opiates, though.”