Pubdate: Wed, 19 Mar 2014
Source: Washington Times (DC)
Copyright: 2014 The Washington Times, LLC.
Contact:  http://www.washingtontimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/492
Author: Andrea Noble

MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES DECRY DEBATE

Medical marijuana advocates in the District are grumbling that 
prospective patients have been left behind in the rush to 
decriminalize and legalize pot for recreational use.

The District's program, which has a notoriously restrictive list of 
just four conditions that qualify a patient to use the drug, has 
underperformed in the eight months since it was implemented. In the 
meantime, lawmakers have approved a plan to decriminalize small 
amounts of marijuana in the city, and an effort to outright legalize 
the drug appears on its way to a public vote in November.

Medical marijuana supporters say the latest regulatory hoop they face 
is the Department of Health's new petition process, by which 
individuals or groups can ask for new conditions to be added to the list.

The District's Department of Health announced Monday that it would 
begin accepting such requests, but advocates say the petition process 
is burdensome. It requires petitioners to provide copies of medical 
research data supporting use of medical marijuana for a proposed 
condition, to describe the effects of the medical condition, to 
describe any conventional medical treatments for the condition, as 
well as provide personal information about the petitioner or anyone 
else who might testify on behalf of the petitioner.

"This petition thing is going way longer than they need to and 
putting the burden on the patient," said D.C. Council member David 
Grosso, at-large independent, who is unhappy with DOH's rollout of the program.

Officials believe as many as 40,000 of the District's 640,000 
residents could qualify for the city's medical marijuana program, but 
only about 200 patients have been approved. Oregon, which has a 
population of close to 4 million people and allows for 10 qualifying 
conditions has more than 60,500 medical marijuana patients.

Health department Director Joxel Garcia said at a D.C. Council 
oversight hearing said he thought officials should not limit the 
qualifying conditions.

"Personally, I think there should be no list. It should be left for 
the physician to determine what condition they should be prescribing 
medical marijuana," Dr. Garcia said at the March 7 hearing. "If we 
allow this to be a patient-doctor relationship, I think it will go in 
a much more proactive way."

It is unclear if the agency plans to take any steps to expand access 
to medical marijuana on its own or if it will rely solely on the 
petition process.

"The Department of Health has the authority to expand the list of 
conditions as much as they want, and for some reason, he's going 
through this song and dance," Mr. Grosso said of Dr. Garcia.

Health department spokeswoman Najma Roberts did not respond to 
requests for comment about the program Tuesday.

The city's medical marijuana program, initially approved by D.C. 
voters through a referendum in 1998, was delayed by a congressional 
rider known as the Barr Amendment until 2009.

The city's first dispensary opened in July, after the D.C. Council 
approved legislation authorizing the program in 2010 and crafted 
regulations to fend off any further interference by the federal government.

"We almost have to revisit the whole thing to get it right," said Mr. 
Grosso, who also supports legalization of marijuana.

Twenty states and the District have legalized medical marijuana 
programs. Voters in Colorado and Washington both approved initiatives 
to legalize recreational use of the drug, and a number of other 
states are poised this year to pass similar measures.

The quick pace at which local legislators were able to introduce and 
pass a decriminalization bill highlights how slow progress has been 
for patients seeking access to medical marijuana, said Mike 
Liszewski, policy director for Americans for Safe Access.

"It does seem a little strange that we haven't figured out medical 
yet and we're moving on," Mr. Liszewski said. "We're just wondering 
why the patients haven't been taken care of yet."

Americans for Safe Access, which supports medical marijuana but takes 
a neutral stance on recreational use, plans to work with individuals 
seeking to petition for various conditions to be included in the 
District's qualifying-condition list. Likely high on the priority 
list are petitions to include chronic pain and epilepsy, Mr. Liszewski said.

It is unclear when the Department of Health's Medical Marijuana 
Scientific Subcommittee would rule on any petitions. Regulations for 
the program state that the committee must meet at least twice a year 
to review petitions. The committee's next meeting is scheduled for 
March 27, but it is closed to the public.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom