Law requires N.M. to grow its own pot

[Psycho4Bud]

SANTA FE, N.M. - New Mexico has a new medical marijuana law with a twist: It requires the state to grow its own.

The law, effective Sunday, not only protects medical marijuana users from prosecution â?? as 11 other states do â?? but requires New Mexico to oversee a production and distribution system for the drug.

"The long-term goal is that the patients will have a safe, secure supply that doesn't mean drug dealers, that doesn't mean growing their own," said Reena Szczepanski, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico.

The state Department of Health must issue rules by Oct. 1 for the licensing of marijuana producers and in-state, secured facilities, and for developing a distribution system.

The law was passed in March and signed by Gov. Bill Richardson, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Other states with medical marijuana laws are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Maryland's law doesn't protect patients from arrest, but it keeps defendants out of jail if they can convince judges they needed marijuana for medical reasons.

Connecticut's governor vetoed a medical marijuana bill recently.

The distribution and use of marijuana are illegal under federal law, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 in a California case that medical marijuana users can be prosecuted.

Faced with that dilemma, the health department has asked state Attorney General Gary King whether its employees could be federally prosecuted for running the medical marijuana registry and identification card program, and whether the agency can license marijuana producers and facilities.

"The production part is unprecedented. ... No other state law does that," said Dr. Steve Jenison, who is running the program for the health department. "So we're trying to be very thoughtful in how we proceed."

In the meantime, however, patients must obtain their own supplies.

The state will immediately begin taking applications from patients whose doctors certify they are eligible for the program.

Within weeks, approved patients â?? or their approved primary caregivers â?? would receive temporary certificates allowing them to possess up to six ounces of marijuana, four mature plants and three immature seedlings. That's enough for three months, the department says.

The law allows the use of marijuana for specified conditions including cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and HIV-AIDS, as well as by some patients in hospice care.

An eight-member advisory board of doctors could recommend that other conditions be added to the list.

Martin Walker was diagnosed four years ago as HIV positive and uses marijuana to combat nausea and depression. He said he looks forward to being able to obtain the drug legally.

"If there's a system in place that's going to allow me to do this treatment without having to break the law ... I'll just be able to sleep better at night," said Walker, who runs HIV prevention and other outdoor-based adult health programs for the Santa Fe Mountain Center.
Law requires N.M. to grow its own pot - Yahoo! News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070630/ap_on_he_me/medical_marijuana)

[Markass]

there's a provision on this law that's being put in by the agency overseeing this in the state, and it's going to allow for 4 mature plants to be grown, and three seedlings

don't mean to hijack your thread or anything

New Mexico
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When lobbyists rallied this year at the Roundhouse to legalize medical marijuana, they distinctly said patients wouldn't be growing this mind-altering herb. Rather, the state Health Department would create a secure production and distribution system - the first state to do so.

After years of failed attempts, the measure won approval, making New Mexico the 12th state with such a law. Now, as the law is about to go into effect Sunday, the message has changed. In a surprise move Thursday, the Health Department unveiled a provision that allows patients to grow a limited number of marijuana plants with protection from state prosecution.

That angered the law-enforcement community. Jim Burleson, director of the state sheriffs' and police association, said having individual growers in the state could be a big problem.

"If a person is growing their own ( marijuana ), there is no quality control and no quantity control - and it's absolutely contrary to what was discussed at the ( legislative ) session," he said.

Also, it "sets up" patients for a high amount of scrutiny from federal law-enforcement agencies, he added. Using or distributing marijuana is illegal under federal law, and state law cannot protect violators from federal prosecution.

The Health Department says qualified patients and caregivers may cultivate as many as four mature marijuana plants and three immature marijuana seedlings. The rule also gives the Health Department the power to audit the number of plants at a patient's home, said Dr. Steve Jenison, the program's medical director. Jenison said even if a state-licensed production and distribution system is put in place, patients would still have the option to grow marijuana plants at home. Jenison said the Health Department decided to allow patients to grow pot because a state-run system could be months in the making, if it happens at all. Under the new law, the Health Department is supposed to issue rules about developing the production and distribution system by Oct. 1.

Because of a potential conflict between state and federal law ( the federal government still views marijuana as an illicit drug that has no medicinal properties ), the Health Department is seeking advice from the Attorney General's Office for the best way to carry out that aspect of the new law.

"We cannot proceed ... until we have a better understanding of the legal implications," Jenison said. Burleson was unaware of this development until the Health Department issued a news release about the Medical Cannabis Program on Thursday. Though the Health Department invited various law-enforcement associations to planning meetings about how to implement the new law, most refused to participate.

Burleson said the association's lawyer warned against taking part in the planning sessions, "lest we be considered co-conspirators in distributing a controlled substance."

Jenison said the Health Department won't give patients information on where to obtain seeds or plants or how to grow marijuana.

But Burleson asks, "Where is the first seed or plant going to come from? That's going to be the first illegal act." Patients who don't want to grow marijuana must find a way to obtain their medicine on the black market - at least for now. Patients and caregivers on the state's registry can possess up to 6 ounces of marijuana and be protected from state prosecution, as long as they don't use it fraudulently.

"This program is about providing much-needed relief for New Mexicans suffering from debilitating diseases," Dr. Alfredo Vigil, the new health secretary, said in a news release. "We will also monitor the use of medical marijuana and prevent abuse."

The law is limited to people with conditions such as cancer, HIV-AIDS, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis.

[sidebar]

A USER'S GUIDE TO THE STATE'S NEW MEDICAL-MARIJUANA LAW

1. Fill out an application for the Health Department's Medical Cannabis Program. Starting Monday, forms will be available at New Mexico Department of Health Home Page (http://www.nmhealth.org), or call Melissa Milam at 827-2321.

2. Make an appointment with a physician. A New Mexico-licensed physician must certify you have one of the qualifying conditions, explain how that condition is debilitating for you and advise that the potential benefits of using marijuana outweigh the potential harms for your situation. Qualifying conditions are limited to cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with intractable spasticity, epilepsy and HIV-AIDS. If your condition isn't on the list, you can appeal to the program's medical advisory committee.

3. By law, the state has up to 30 days to process an application. At this time, no fee is charged. Dr. Steve Jenison, medical director for the new program, will call your doctor and discuss your case.

4. Approved patients and primary caregivers will receive plastic cards that say they are immune from state prosecution for possessing up to 6 ounces of medical marijuana ( considered a three-month supply ) or cultivating a specified number of plants. However, the new law cannot protect patients or caregivers from federal prosecution. The registry of patients is confidential, but police can call the Medical Cannabis Program to confirm whether someone is a legitimate card-holder.

5. For now, patients and caregivers must obtain marijuana or marijuana plants on the black market. The Department of Health will not provide assistance. Drug dealers are not protected by the law.

6. Patients must research their own information about the proper dosage and method of intake for their condition. Don't count on pointers from the Health Department or your doctor. "Their physicians will likely feel constrained in making specific recommendations," Jenison said.