Pubdate: Tue, 18 Jun 2013
Source: Union Leader (Manchester, NH)
Copyright: 2013 The Union Leader Corp.
Contact:  http://www.theunionleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/761
Note: Out-of-state letters are seldom published.
Author: John Distaso

'HOME GROW' DROPPED ON WAY TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA COMPROMISE

CONCORD - New Hampshire House and Senate negotiators reached 
agreement Tuesday on legislation legalizing the use of marijuana for 
seriously ill patients.

The bill, pending final approval of the committee of conference 
agreement by the full House and Senate next week, will be on its way 
to Gov. Maggie Hassan's desk, where, she said, she will sign it into law.

At the insistence of the governor and the law enforcement community, 
a "home-grow" option was removed by the Senate from the bill 
originally passed by the House.

The House conferees Tuesday agreed to the Senate position on the 
"home-grow" issue, after Sen. Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, and John 
Reagan, R-Deerfield, told them bluntly that the bill simply would not 
become law if it allowed patients to grow their own small amounts of marijuana.

Instead, the bill allows marijuana to be dispensed only at no more 
than four not-for-profit "alternative treatment centers" throughout 
the state. And it does not allow patients, who would be certified by 
the state, to grow their own marijuana even during an anticipated 
18-month to two-year rule-making and licensing process for the centers.

Patients during the past few months have told the lawmakers and the 
governor that some of them will not survive for the two years it will 
take to get the dispensing centers operational.

Still, said Hassan, "I have always maintained that allowing doctors 
to provide relief to patients through the use of appropriately 
regulated and dispensed medical marijuana is the compassionate and 
right policy for the State of New Hampshire.

"The compromise legislation as agreed to by the committee of 
conference addresses the concerns that I have heard and expressed 
throughout this session, and provides the level of regulation needed 
for the use of medical marijuana," she said.

Rep. Thomas Sherman, D-Rye, a physician who treats patients with 
hepatitis C and Crohn's disease, said after the deal was reached, 
"This is a step in the right direction in broadening the regimens 
available to patients without broadening the risks of abuse.

"This is one of the tightest laws in the country," he said.

New Hampshire would be the 19th state to allow the use of marijuana 
for therapeutic purposes, according to ProCon.org, a nonpartisan 
research nonprofit organization.

The bill requires the state Department of Health and Human Services 
to develop rules governing the application and licensing process for 
the treatment centers. It requires the department to license two 
centers within 18 months of the effective date of the legislation, 
which is "upon passage.

That delay is why proponents believed the home-grow option was so 
important. Prime sponsor, Rep. Donna Schlachman, D-Exeter, predicted 
there will be future attempts to add the home-grow option to the law.

Matt Simon, a New Hampshire-based legislative analyst for the 
national Marijuana Policy Project, said, "It is unfortunate that the 
measure will not provide immediate protection to those currently 
seeking relief from medical marijuana, but in time it will ensure 
seriously ill people will be able to do so without fear of arrest. 
The law will also provide patients with safe and reliable access to 
medical marijuana so that they no longer need to resort to the 
underground market."

The bill allows medical marijuana to be used by state-certified 
patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, hepatitis C, 
muscular dystrophy, Crohn's disease, agitation of Alzheimer's 
disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic pancreatitis, spinal cord injury 
or disease, traumatic brain injury or "one or more injuries that 
significantly interferes with daily activities as documented by the 
patients' provider."

To be certified, the patient must also be suffering from "a severely 
debilitating or terminal" condition or undergoing treatment that has 
produced any number of severe physical problems, including 
chemotherapy-induced anorexia, severe pain that has not responded to 
other treatments, severe vomiting or seizures.

The House version of the bill allowed those who suffer from post 
traumatic stress disorder to also receive marijuana treatment, but 
the Senate, also at the insistence of the governor and law 
enforcement, removed it and the House Tuesday agreed to the change..

Schlachman also asked the conferees to include a provision allowing 
patients who suffer from any of the qualifying diseases and grow 
marijuana before the alternative treatment centers are up and running 
to present an "affirmative defense" if they are charged with illegal 
possession of marijuana.

The conferees also rejected that suggestion. However, the bill does 
allow an "alternative defense" to be presented by a patient charged 
with a marijuana-related defense after alternative treatment centers 
are up and running and the patients have been given their identification cards.

"We already know we have patients who are using under the guidance or 
with the approval of their medical providers," Schlachman said.

"We've got people who are fragile medically who are going to continue 
to have to worry. I was really hoping we could provide at least that 
level of assurance and comfort," she said.

Under the bill, a person who received marijuana for treatment would 
still be subject to prosecution if he is under found under the 
influence of marijuana while operating any motorized vehicle or while 
at work, operating heavy machinery, or while smoking marijuana in a 
public place, including a bus or taxi, or any public park, beach or field.

A patient certified to use marijuana would be prohibited from 
possessing or smoking it in or on the grounds of any elementary or 
secondary school or pre-school, or in a designated drug-free zone, 
unless his home is within the boundaries of a drug-free zone.

Possession would also be prohibited in a place of employment, without 
the written permission of the employer, a correctional facility, 
public recreation or youth center or in any law enforcement facility.

A patient or treatment center caregiver found in possession of 
marijuana outside of his home and is not carrying his registry 
identification card would be subject to a fine of up to $100.

The Department of Health and Human Services would create and 
distribute the identification cards as part of its overall 
administration of the program.

The bill also sets up a "Therapeutic Use of Cannabis Advisory Council 
to monitor all aspects of the program and issue a formal opinion in 
five years on whether the program should continue or be repealed.

Also, the bill requires the health and human services agency to file 
annual reports on the program with the state Health and Human 
Services Oversight Committee and the Board of Nursing.

"This is our first attempt at helping our citizens," said Stiles. 
"Any bill that comes through the Legislature is not perfect, but this 
gives us an opportunity to review it and make changes."

"We wanted to get something passed," said Rep. James MacKay, 
D-Concord, a professional therapist who chaired the conference committee.

"And this was the first time we had a governor open enough to do it," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom