Jacob Bell
New Member
ANNAPOLIS – Opposition from the head of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene likely has foiled an effort that would allow physicians to prescribe medical marijuana to long-term patients.
The measure, which won passage in the Senate last year before stalling in the House, seeks to establish a regulatory framework for the production and distribution of the drug, which has been found to relieve chronic pain in certain illnesses.
Despite the support of two cancer survivors in the Senate and the General Assembly's only physician, the bill now appears dead in its current form.
DHMH Secretary Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein told two House committees on Monday that the department favors further study to identify a more feasible option for the use of medical marijuana. The cost to establish such a system and the potential for abuse is particularly troublesome, he said.
The legislation also does not outline which doctors can prescribe marijuana, the specific conditions for which the drug can be recommended, how many dispensaries would be allowed, the quantity of the prescription allowed and the duration of the treatment, Sharfstein testified.
He said he is willing to work with the bill's sponsors to develop a more tightly drawn program that is not cost-prohibitive.
"Marijuana, unlike approved pharmaceuticals, has not been characterized, studied and determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be safe and effective," said Sharfstein, who was the FDA's second-in-command from March 2009 until January, when O'Malley tapped him for state health secretary.
Del. Dan K. Morhaim (D-Dist. 11) of Owings Mills, an emergency room physician at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, who has vigorously advocated for the bill's passage for several years, tried to put a positive spin on DHMH's willingness to strengthen the legislation.
"I think the department actually offered more positives, even in opposition to the bill," he said. "It's more important to get the right bill passed, rather than just get a bill passed."
Currently, 15 states and the District of Columbia have a medical marijuana law on the books. In Maryland, marijuana users who can prove a medicinal need can have fines reduced and jail time waived, but they still are subject to having a criminal conviction on their record if they are caught in possession of the drug.
The bill, as proposed, would authorize physicians to prescribe marijuana to long-term patients, but only after attempting other treatments. The state health department would license and regulate all marijuana producers and dispensaries to ensure compliance with the law.
Further delay in legalizing marijuana would cause more pain for cancer patients and those suffering from other debilitating conditions, Morhaim told members of the House Judiciary and House Health & Government Operations committees.
"The longer we wait, the more suffering we allow, and that's intolerable," he said.
Current law also endangers patients who must now turn to criminals to obtain the drug in an effort to relieve their pain, said Sen. David R. Brinkley, a two-time cancer survivor who is sponsoring the Senate version along with Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring, who is currently undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
Brinkley also noted that Maryland's proposal is much stricter than California's medical marijuana law. That state has seen a proliferation of dispensaries and doctors prescribing the drug to patients who are not really in need.
"This is not a California model," said Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market. "They showed us how not to do it. We don't have doc-in-a-boxes."
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: gazette.net
Author: Alan Brody
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net
Website: Agency opposition likely snuffs out medical marijuana measure
The measure, which won passage in the Senate last year before stalling in the House, seeks to establish a regulatory framework for the production and distribution of the drug, which has been found to relieve chronic pain in certain illnesses.
Despite the support of two cancer survivors in the Senate and the General Assembly's only physician, the bill now appears dead in its current form.
DHMH Secretary Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein told two House committees on Monday that the department favors further study to identify a more feasible option for the use of medical marijuana. The cost to establish such a system and the potential for abuse is particularly troublesome, he said.
The legislation also does not outline which doctors can prescribe marijuana, the specific conditions for which the drug can be recommended, how many dispensaries would be allowed, the quantity of the prescription allowed and the duration of the treatment, Sharfstein testified.
He said he is willing to work with the bill's sponsors to develop a more tightly drawn program that is not cost-prohibitive.
"Marijuana, unlike approved pharmaceuticals, has not been characterized, studied and determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be safe and effective," said Sharfstein, who was the FDA's second-in-command from March 2009 until January, when O'Malley tapped him for state health secretary.
Del. Dan K. Morhaim (D-Dist. 11) of Owings Mills, an emergency room physician at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, who has vigorously advocated for the bill's passage for several years, tried to put a positive spin on DHMH's willingness to strengthen the legislation.
"I think the department actually offered more positives, even in opposition to the bill," he said. "It's more important to get the right bill passed, rather than just get a bill passed."
Currently, 15 states and the District of Columbia have a medical marijuana law on the books. In Maryland, marijuana users who can prove a medicinal need can have fines reduced and jail time waived, but they still are subject to having a criminal conviction on their record if they are caught in possession of the drug.
The bill, as proposed, would authorize physicians to prescribe marijuana to long-term patients, but only after attempting other treatments. The state health department would license and regulate all marijuana producers and dispensaries to ensure compliance with the law.
Further delay in legalizing marijuana would cause more pain for cancer patients and those suffering from other debilitating conditions, Morhaim told members of the House Judiciary and House Health & Government Operations committees.
"The longer we wait, the more suffering we allow, and that's intolerable," he said.
Current law also endangers patients who must now turn to criminals to obtain the drug in an effort to relieve their pain, said Sen. David R. Brinkley, a two-time cancer survivor who is sponsoring the Senate version along with Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Dist. 20) of Silver Spring, who is currently undergoing treatment for colon cancer.
Brinkley also noted that Maryland's proposal is much stricter than California's medical marijuana law. That state has seen a proliferation of dispensaries and doctors prescribing the drug to patients who are not really in need.
"This is not a California model," said Brinkley (R-Dist. 4) of New Market. "They showed us how not to do it. We don't have doc-in-a-boxes."
News Hawk- GuitarMan313 420 MAGAZINE
Source: gazette.net
Author: Alan Brody
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: Post-Newsweek Media, Inc./Gazette.Net
Website: Agency opposition likely snuffs out medical marijuana measure
