Lawmakers in Albany, New York have decided that anyone prescribed an opioid prescription may use medical marijuana products as a substitute. Having ruled that medical cannabis is a suitable painkilling alternative to the addictive opioids this week, the Empire State has cleared yet another incremental hurdle to legalization.

The new policy which is already in effect, joins a suite of conditions that already make one eligible for medical marijuana in New York: chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The move by New York state reflects evidence from two separate studies broadly covered earlier this spring. Two independent studies revealed that states where medical marijuana dispensaries were available to larger populations of patients who may have been prescribed opioid painkillers in the past, there was a drastic reduction in opioid abuse and that the quality of care and symptom reduction was similarly effective with no associative threat of lethal doses or addiction.

Ostensibly a small but crucial win in more effectively combating the opioid crisis, it also represents another victory in the campaign for full legal adoption of cannabis in a spring and summer that’s already seen several victories. Notably, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, possibly pressured by the gubernatorial candidacy of Cynthia Nixon, released a feasibility study last month that emphasized the financial windfall New York state would experience with legalized cannabis. Also announced last month was New York City’s decision to, in essence, decriminalize cannabis use (although it is imperative to emphasize that NYPD can still search and arrest individuals who they suspect of smoking marijuana); it’s tricky, but yeah, arrests for marijuana are going to be drastically cut beginning on September 1, 2018.

While New York (and heck, even recently legalized Massachusetts) are still years away from the competitive and growing cannabis marketplaces in Western states such as California or Colorado, with their Gwyneth Paltrow collaborations and THC non-beers, this is yet another sure step in the progression towards legalization.