Hope and anxiety over medical marijuana
By Jon Kelvey, Carroll County Times, Westminster, Md. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Chloe is 23 months old.
According to her mother,
At that time, however, the push for a legal medical marijuana system in
Even before the ink was dry on that law, those academic medical centers were indicating they did not feel comfortable participating, according to
Moser and Isaac began looking at a possible relocation to
Over the spring and summer however, the couple decided against uprooting their family from
A New Hope
Things have now changed in
According to Bloom, the new legislation shifted the focus of
"New legislation was introduced that would change the approach ... to allow physicians certified by the commission to recommend medical marijuana to patients that fit described conditions that are in the legislation," Bloom said. "The commission would also license 15 growers and also [an as yet undetermined number of] dispensaries. That's where we stand now."
The academic medical centers are still covered in the law and may participate if they choose to do so, according to Bloom, but the heart of the program will now be the patient-doctor relationship. Doctors will apply to the commission for approval to recommend marijuana for the treatment of one of eight conditions or illnesses specified in the regulations crafted by the commission: Cachexia, anorexia, wasting syndrome, severe pain, severe nausea, seizures or persistent muscle spasms, glaucoma, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and "any other disease, condition, or treatment thereof which may be approved by the commission."
Patients and their caregivers -- family members or other people approved to assist patients in acquiring and ingesting their marijuana -- will carry identification cards, as will the employees of the businesses that will grow and dispense medical marijuana.
Growing Problems
That's the way the system is supposed to work, at least according to the draft regulations the commission posted on its website
But according to some of the legislators who sponsored the 2014 law, the regulations as currently presented by the commission are not workable in practice and there is doubt the commission will have a final set of regulations ready by the
Del.
"I was very concerned to say the least. I don't see as much progress as I expected," Glenn said. "Understanding what our timeline is for patients being able to actually access medical marijuana ... . I felt we were being very conservative as legislators. We were hoping at least in 18 months, we would be able to see the first patient actually be able to access medical marijuana."
Glenn said she is now no longer certain when, or even if patients will be able to access medical marijuana.
Many aspects of the draft regulations are too vague or too burdensome, Glenn said, and could prevent patients from receiving the care they need. Those aspects, she said, include complicated rules for patients, the exclusion of persons with a history of substance abuse -- even marijuana -- and a restriction on the operation of a dispensary within 500 feet of any playground, day care, church or school. Those restrictions, Glenn said, could make it impossible for many patients to receive medical marijuana even once it is available.
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Visit the Carroll County Times (Westminster, Md.) at www.carrollcountytimes.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services
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