Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Increasing the maximum allowable concentration of THC in cannabis products from 60 to 70 percent, and eliminating a proposed rule requiring patients to submit "biometric" information when applying for cards, are among the revisions to proposed new rules for the state's Medical Cannabis Program.
The recommendations were made by Albuquerque attorney Susan Hapka, the hearing officer hired to oversee the state Health Department's overhaul of the program. Her report was filed with the Health Department on Thursday, which is "in the process of reviewing it" before making final decisions about rules, said department spokesman Kenny Vigil on Friday. He added that there was "no set time frame for finalizing the rules."
The department previously has indicated it would not begin issuing licenses to new producers until after new rules have been adopted, he said.
No new producers have been licensed since 2010, and a Health Department study commissioned in 2013 showed that average patient use was exceeding available supply. As of February 2015, there were 12,940 active patients on the Medical Cannabis Program, Vigil said.
Other recommendations from Hapka include:
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana rules under review | Albuquerque Journal News
Author: Rick Nathanson
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Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Website: Albuquerque and New Mexico News, Sports, Business and more | Albuquerque Journal News
The recommendations were made by Albuquerque attorney Susan Hapka, the hearing officer hired to oversee the state Health Department's overhaul of the program. Her report was filed with the Health Department on Thursday, which is "in the process of reviewing it" before making final decisions about rules, said department spokesman Kenny Vigil on Friday. He added that there was "no set time frame for finalizing the rules."
The department previously has indicated it would not begin issuing licenses to new producers until after new rules have been adopted, he said.
No new producers have been licensed since 2010, and a Health Department study commissioned in 2013 showed that average patient use was exceeding available supply. As of February 2015, there were 12,940 active patients on the Medical Cannabis Program, Vigil said.
Other recommendations from Hapka include:
- Increasing the maximum water content for cannabis from 10 percent to 15 percent.
- Allowing the use of ethyl alcohol as a solvent for creating concentrates.
- Clarifying that couriers and non-profit producers can deliver to patients who live within 300 feet of a school, church or day care center.
- Clarifying that a person whose application as a qualified patient or primary caregiver has been denied for failure to complete an application or failure to meet a submittal requirement, may request a record review from the department.
- Changing the language from "financial audit" to simply "audit" as clarification for the type of audit that must be performed and submitted by nonprofit producers (who claimed that federal cannabis laws made it difficult to obtain a certified financial audit).
- Hapka's recommendations were assembled after a Dec. 29 public hearing in Santa Fe, at which 54 people provided oral comment and another 1,100 written public comments were received.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical marijuana rules under review | Albuquerque Journal News
Author: Rick Nathanson
Contact: Sending E-Mail Tips to Albuquerque Journal Reporter
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Website: Albuquerque and New Mexico News, Sports, Business and more | Albuquerque Journal News
