Pubdate: Wed, 15 Jul 2015 Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM) Copyright: 2015 Albuquerque Journal Contact: http://www.abqjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10 STATE SHOULD ABANDON ITS MISGUIDED RX POT SECRECY Among its benefits, medical pot smokers claim that it shuts down various pains and opens the senses. And it's only right that the state should be open about those it licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana. A lawsuit filed last week accuses the state Department of Health of violating state law by refusing to release the names or other information about people who have applied for a license to produce medical marijuana. Among the allegations: refusal to make the information public "distorts the market for medicine" and deprives residents of "information about their neighborhoods, and has the potential to promote cronyism and corruption in the awarding of valuable state licenses." The secrecy requirements, first enacted under the Richardson administration, are ridiculous on many levels. While the state has a shroud of secrecy over growers, some operations, like Minerva Canna in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque and Peace Medical Marijuana Consultants in Albuquerque (which "now offers an inhouse psychiatrist and certified nurse practitioner!"), openly advertise for customers. They are far from alone. However, the Health Department continues to try to keep information about the individuals and businesses it licenses to prescribe, produce and sell medical pot behind closed doors. Albuquerque attorney Charles "Kip" Purcell filed the suit on behalf of the Foundation for Open Government and freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr, who argue that the regulation isn't permitted under the state's open-records laws. A challenge to this cloak and dagger practice has been a long time coming. Now that it's here, it's time to smoke out those folks the state is still trying to hide in the weeds. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom