Pubdate: Tue, 21 Jul 2015
Source: Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI)
Copyright: 2015 Star Advertiser
Contact: 
http://www.staradvertiser.com/info/Star-Advertiser_Letter_to_the_Editor.html
Website: http://www.staradvertiser.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/5154
Author: Marcel Honore

STATE LOOKING TO FIX PROCESS TO GET MEDICAL MARIJUANA

About 1,100 Applications Are Handled a Month, and It Is Expected to 
Double in 2016

State health officials say they're looking to streamline the 
application process for medical marijuana patient cards - which some 
local physicians say is unduly burdensome - ahead of the first pot 
dispensaries to open in Hawaii next year.

The fixes could be critical for the state Department of Health if it 
is to keep up with the demand once dispensaries open in the state. 
The department, which processes about 1,100 applications a month for 
new cards and annual renewals, expects that number could double in 2016.

Meanwhile, some physicians say the existing application process is 
tedious, puts a strain on them and often leads to errors that cause 
further delays for patients seeking cards.

Right now potential patients must fill out online and written forms 
alongside their doctors. The doctors then have to send those forms to 
DOH and later send the card to patients who qualify. If there are any 
mistakes, the application must be resent to DOH, where it goes to the 
back of the line so as not to delay any applications that were 
correctly submitted, said DOH spokeswoman Janice Okubo.

"They've created a huge administrative burden for physicians," said 
Dr. Clifton Otto, an Oahu-based physician who regularly certifies 
medical marijuana patients. "There's quite a bit of duplication in 
those forms."

The process, he said, is "making it very difficult for doctors to 
handle this," and "it becomes less worthwhile to do the certification 
if it has all this hassle."

Otto served on the state's medical marijuana task force last year.

Oahu-based physician Dr. David Barton echoed Otto's concerns.

"There are significant problems with the current process, and we hope 
they will deal with all our concerns," said Barton, who also 
certifies medical cannabis patients.

Okubo said that DOH is creating a new, fully online system in which 
patients could fill out the application separately and send it to 
their physician, who could then sign and send it electronically to DOH.

"It will make the system more efficient," she said. "It will remove 
some of the additional steps."

DOH took over the state's 15-year-old medical marijuana program from 
the Department of Public Safety in January. The program's four-person 
staff takes three to four weeks to issue cards from when it receives 
the application, though there can be a lag when someone is out sick 
or on vacation, Okubo said.

DOH expects to launch the system before dispensaries open as early as 
July 2016. The latest figures, taken in January, listed 13,800 
registered medical pot patients in Hawaii. DOH hasn't yet updated 
that number, Okubo said.

Otto said he interprets the state's medical cannabis laws differently 
from DOH, and believes they allow patients to get marijuana once a 
physician sends their certification papers to the department.

"If the Department of Health would recognize this, then this whole 
delay with the cards would just disappear," Otto said Monday. "Even 
if there's a threeweek delay, you can't expect patients who are dying 
. to wait three weeks to get their card back."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom