Pubdate: Wed, 27 Aug 2014
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2014 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Erin Cox
Page: 1

PROPOSED RULES FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DRAW FIRE AT HEARING

Critics took aim Tuesday at proposed regulations to create a medical 
marijuana industry in Maryland as a state commission tasked with 
writing the rules rushed toward a deadline it might not meet.

Physicians, patients, advocates and potential growers said the 
commission did not collect enough public input before drafting the 
rules - which they said appear to forbid a medical marijuana 
dispensary anywhere within Baltimore city limits.

Final regulations are due in less than three weeks, but the public 
hearing in Annapolis Tuesday was the commission's first.

Witnesses told the panel that the proposed rules are too burdensome 
and too vague for the program to work, and advocates for medical 
marijuana said they could cause months of setbacks to a program that 
has already has been delayed.

Baltimore Democratic Del. Cheryl D. Glenn told members of the Natalie 
M. LaPrade Medical Marijuana Commission - named in honor of her late 
mother - that requirements and restrictions would disqualify patients 
a doctor would otherwise recommend for marijuana treatment.

Patients must sign complicated waivers, and the rules disqualify any 
patient with a history of substance abuse, even if the problem had 
been under control for decades. Anyone convicted of a misdemeanor in 
the previous five years would also be disqualified, which would 
restrict access for medical marijuana users charged with possession 
of paraphernalia before the law took effect.

Harry "Buddy" Robshaw III, vice chairman of the commission, said the 
panel had decided to change the rules about which patients could 
qualify to use medical marijuana, but that he could not yet discuss 
the changes publicly.

That drew a reaction from Del. Dan K. Morhaim.

"I can't read your mind and know what you changed behind the scenes," 
the Baltimore County Democrat said.

Morhaim also criticized a proposed requirement that growers keep at 
least two employees on site at all hours - a rule that doesn't apply 
to gun stores, pharmacies or other businesses with regulated 
inventory that shut down overnight.

The commission has not said how much it would cost to apply to grow 
marijuana in the state, and has not created rules for selling edible 
marijuana products or oils, which irked more than a half-dozen 
investors and potential growers who testified before the commission.

Gene Ransom, CEO of the medical society MedChi, said the draft rules 
may not give doctors enough protection from federal prosecution, 
which he said would make it unlikely they would participate.

"If we don't get this right, it will be a major deterrent for anyone 
using this," he said.

And John A. Pica, a former state lawmaker who represents a group of 
investors interested in medical marijuana, said a provision that 
forbids a dispensary or growing operation within 500 feet of a 
school, day care center, church or playground effectively rules out 
any site in Baltimore.

Robshaw, who is the chief of police in Cheverly, said the commission 
has been meeting for eight hours every Thursday since June to hash 
out the regulations. It has begun revisions he said he hoped to 
release before the Sept. 15 deadline.

"It's not going to be a whole dress uniform," Robshaw said in an 
interview. "Some of the pieces will be missing."

But "the skeleton" of the program, he said, will be ready within three weeks.

"I think when the new version comes out, many people's complaints 
will be taken care of," he said. "We feel like we're under the gun, 
but that it's doable."

If the commission approved final regulations, they would go to state 
Health Secretary Joshua M. Sharfstein. If he signed off, they would 
be subjected to another round of public review.

Maryland lawmakers approved a medical marijuana program in 2013 that 
relied on academic centers to volunteer to distribute the drug. None 
did, and in 2014, advocates pushed through new legislation they hoped 
would lead to a workable program.

The new law has no deadlines for creating access, but gave the 
medical marijuana commission less than three months to complete the 
initial round of drafting regulations.

Robshaw said the tight deadline has contributed to public frustration.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom