Pubdate: Mon, 21 Jul 2014
Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
Copyright: 2014 Sun-Times Media, LLC
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/5QwXAJWY
Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/81
Author: Becky Schlikerman
Page: 14

HOSPITAL WANTS TO DISPENSE MEDICAL MARIJUANA

A dangerous neighborhood.

The threat of arrest - or worse.

An unreliable product, sold by criminals.

For seriously ill patients who rely on medical marijuana to ease 
their pain, paying for their treatment can be a "risky operation," 
according to multiple sclerosis patient Julie Falco.

But if officials at Swedish Covenant Hospital get their way, medical 
marijuana users like Falco could one day purchase their cannabis at a 
hospital dispensary - just like a patient buying a dosed antibiotic 
or a powerful pain reliever at the hospital's pharmacy.

"We have professionals who very much would like to prescribe those 
drugs, we have the system in place to manage it, and we have the 
patient population that needs it," said Marcia Jimenez, the 
hospital's director of intergovernmental affairs. "It just made a lot 
of sense."

Swedish Covenant wants to be the first Illinois hospital to take 
advantage of the state's decision last year to legalize medical 
marijuana - a decision that's likely to trigger a marijuana "Gold Rush."

The state has agreed to issue 60 permits to sell the drug - 13 of 
which will be in Chicago.

Swedish Covenant would like to grab one of them but is hamstrung by 
federal law, which still treats all marijuana as illegal.

"If the hospital were to become a dispensary at this point, we would 
be violating the federal law and jeopardizing reimbursements for 
Medicare and Medicaid," said Jimenez, who is calling for Congress to 
catch up with the growing number of states that allow medical marijuana.

As it stands, hospital bosses are concerned they could also be 
targeted for criminal activity or find themselves in trouble with the IRS.

"It's not something the hospital could risk and still stay 
financially viable," Jimenez said. "So we're outspoken about it. We 
think hospitals are the best choice for dispensing. Unless someone 
speaks up, we're not going to be able to change the federal law."

So far, no hospital in the 23 states or Washington, D.C., where 
medical pot is legal, has sold marijuana, said Chris Lindsey, a 
legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Some Chicago hospitals said they're working out how to deal with 
patients who use marijuana as medicine, but dispensary plans aren't 
in the works.

At Northwestern Memorial Hospital, the organization likely won't be 
in the medical pot business, according to Cindy Barnard, the 
hospital's director of quality strategies.

"We tend to focus on the things we know how to do well, and that's 
just not one of the things that's been in our service line," Barnard said.

At Rush University Medical Center, officials don't yet know what they will do.

"There are a lot of nuances," said Katie Struck, a lawyer for the 
hospital. "As much as we want to make sure we are doing everything we 
can for our patients, we also don't want to necessarily be 
trailblazers in the sense where we're kind of pushing the envelope in 
ways we don't need to. It's a delicate balance."

But at Swedish Covenant in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the 
North Side, Jeffrey Cilley, an oncologist, said doctors are 
interested in using medical pot for their cancer patients to help 
them deal with symptoms like pain, nausea and anxiety.

"There's an incredible interest from a lot of patients," the doctor 
said. "I've had patients that have traveled out of state to try to 
experiment and see."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom