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The demand for medical marijuana in New Mexico has outpaced production, leaving some patients to ration their supplies while others are being turned away. A survey commissioned by the state Department of Health shows producers licensed under the program have turned away thousands of patients in recent months. A 65-page report detailing the survey was provided to the Albuquerque Journal in response to a public records request.
The report includes the comments of unnamed patients, one of whom purchased marijuana on the street due to the shortage. Another patient reported that producers are running out of their supply as soon as it becomes available. New Mexico's medical marijuana program is in sixth year and is experiencing growing pains. The state was the first to have its health department license and regulate a nonprofit medical marijuana distribution system. The number of licensed producers in New Mexico has dropped from 25 to 23, while the number of active certified patients hit 10,289 at the end of October. That's an increase of 1,200 from earlier this year.
The Department of Health is also considering adding three new medical conditions to the list after getting a recommendation last week from a state medical marijuana advisory board. Those conditions include Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury. About one-quarter of the 2,700 medical marijuana patients who were randomly selected to participate returned their survey questionnaires. Respondents ranged in age from 19 to 83, with the average being 49.
The Health Department is still reviewing the survey results. "We are taking it seriously," said Andrea Sundberg, the medical cannabis program coordinator. "We don't want to do a knee-jerk reaction. We're analyzing it to determine what the next best steps are going to be." The survey asked about weekly usage and purchases, and concluded that just under 10,000 patients in the program would need more than 11,000 pounds yearly. But producers are reporting harvests that would provide only about 2,200 pounds.
Sundberg said the nonprofit producers are allowed to grow only 150 plants at a time, but yields have recently increased as producers learn more. The survey found the biggest problem was that the producer was "out of product." The second most cited obstacle was affordability. Of the 20 licensed producers who responded to the survey, more than half said there were unscheduled periods of time in the last three months during which they were "out of product." According to the survey, producers were closed a total of 342 days in the past three months, with 6,643 patients turned away. Nine of the 20 producers said they rationed marijuana during the past three months to more than 6,000 patients. About two-thirds of patients turned away were able to buy marijuana in one to two weeks.
Patients also were reporting high prices from licensed producers. Sundberg said program officials want patients to have "safe access" and that includes not having to go to unknown sources to purchase the drug for a cheaper price. However, she said the state can't control the pricing from licensed producers. Albuquerque attorney Patricia Monaghan said Gov. Susana Martinez's administration needs to license more producers, which would create more competition and affect the price. Many of the survey respondents thanked the Health Department for offering the program. One said: "This program is a huge blessing. I feel better not being a potential inmate."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Sanluisobispo.com
Author: Associated Press
Contact: Contact The Tribune & SanLuisObispo.com in San Luis Obispo, CA
Website: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: NM experiencing shortage of medical marijuana | Nation/World | SanLuisObispo.com
The report includes the comments of unnamed patients, one of whom purchased marijuana on the street due to the shortage. Another patient reported that producers are running out of their supply as soon as it becomes available. New Mexico's medical marijuana program is in sixth year and is experiencing growing pains. The state was the first to have its health department license and regulate a nonprofit medical marijuana distribution system. The number of licensed producers in New Mexico has dropped from 25 to 23, while the number of active certified patients hit 10,289 at the end of October. That's an increase of 1,200 from earlier this year.
The Department of Health is also considering adding three new medical conditions to the list after getting a recommendation last week from a state medical marijuana advisory board. Those conditions include Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury. About one-quarter of the 2,700 medical marijuana patients who were randomly selected to participate returned their survey questionnaires. Respondents ranged in age from 19 to 83, with the average being 49.
The Health Department is still reviewing the survey results. "We are taking it seriously," said Andrea Sundberg, the medical cannabis program coordinator. "We don't want to do a knee-jerk reaction. We're analyzing it to determine what the next best steps are going to be." The survey asked about weekly usage and purchases, and concluded that just under 10,000 patients in the program would need more than 11,000 pounds yearly. But producers are reporting harvests that would provide only about 2,200 pounds.
Sundberg said the nonprofit producers are allowed to grow only 150 plants at a time, but yields have recently increased as producers learn more. The survey found the biggest problem was that the producer was "out of product." The second most cited obstacle was affordability. Of the 20 licensed producers who responded to the survey, more than half said there were unscheduled periods of time in the last three months during which they were "out of product." According to the survey, producers were closed a total of 342 days in the past three months, with 6,643 patients turned away. Nine of the 20 producers said they rationed marijuana during the past three months to more than 6,000 patients. About two-thirds of patients turned away were able to buy marijuana in one to two weeks.
Patients also were reporting high prices from licensed producers. Sundberg said program officials want patients to have "safe access" and that includes not having to go to unknown sources to purchase the drug for a cheaper price. However, she said the state can't control the pricing from licensed producers. Albuquerque attorney Patricia Monaghan said Gov. Susana Martinez's administration needs to license more producers, which would create more competition and affect the price. Many of the survey respondents thanked the Health Department for offering the program. One said: "This program is a huge blessing. I feel better not being a potential inmate."
News Moderator - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Sanluisobispo.com
Author: Associated Press
Contact: Contact The Tribune & SanLuisObispo.com in San Luis Obispo, CA
Website: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.: NM experiencing shortage of medical marijuana | Nation/World | SanLuisObispo.com
