Pubdate: Thu, 16 Jul 2015
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2015 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Dan Boyd

GOV. LIFTS SECRECY VEIL ON MEDICAL POT PRODUCERS

Martinez Directs Change, Says Confidentiality No Longer Needed

SANTA FE - The names of New Mexico medical marijuana dispensaries and 
their employees will soon be made public, under a directive announced 
Wednesday by the office of Gov. Susana Martinez.

The Republican governor's decision will reverse a long-standing 
confidentiality provision in the state's Medical Cannabis Program and 
comes less than a week after a lawsuit was filed in an attempt to 
strike down the regulation that allows for the names of medical 
marijuana producers to be kept secret.

It will not apply to the 15,625 certified patients in the medical pot 
program - just the producers and their employees.

"The governor has taken a close look at this issue over the past 
several weeks, and she does not believe this information should be 
confidential any longer," Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez told the 
Journal. "In a move that will provide better transparency, the 
governor has directed the New Mexico Department of Health to change 
the rule, which would now make that information public for the first time."

To enact Martinez's directive, the Health Department will have to 
formally change the confidentiality rule, enacted during the 
administration of then-Gov. Bill Richardson. It was unclear Wednesday 
how long the rule-making process might take.

Previously, the department had defended the confidentiality rule as 
necessary for the security of medical pot producers and patients, 
with an agency spokesman saying in 2013 the release of producer 
information could lead to production locations being disclosed and 
patient information being compromised.

The Department of Health already provides a list of licensed 
dispensaries to patients whose doctor certifications for use of 
medical marijuana are approved by the agency. In addition, some of 
the producers advertise openly on the Internet.

New Mexico's medical pot program was created in 2007, after state 
lawmakers approved the "Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act" and 
Richardson signed it into law.

In the lawsuit filed last week, freelance journalist Peter St. Cyr 
and the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government argued that the 
secrecy regulation wasn't permitted under the state's open records law.

"Executive agencies cannot exempt their records from the Inspection 
of Public Records Act by administrative fiat," the plaintiffs said in 
the lawsuit, filed in state District Court in Albuquerque.

In addition, the current policy deprives New Mexicans of information 
about their neighborhoods and could lead to "cronyism and corruption" 
in the awarding of state licenses, the lawsuit argues.

Under New Mexico's medical marijuana program, patients can apply for 
a medical marijuana card under 22 conditions. Chronic pain and 
post-traumatic stress disorder account for the largest segment of 
certified users.

The 15,265 certified patients as of June 30 represents an increase of 
nearly 60 percent from July 2013. Meanwhile, there were 3,741 
individuals with active personal production licenses, according to 
Health Department figures.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom