copobo
01-27-2011, 11:18 PM
Medical-marijuana advocates raise privacy concerns - The Denver Post (http://tinyurl.com/6x5wmuh)
A lineup of medical-marijuana activists and business owners said today the state's proposed new rules for the cannabis industry threaten patient privacy.
Requirements that transactions at dispensaries be videotaped, purchases be documented and personal information be recorded could cause many of the state's more than 115,000 medical-marijuana patients to opt out of the system and return to buying pot on the street, advocates said. State officials say details of the purchases would be kept in a secure online database, but medical-marijuana advocates pointed to recent WikiLeaks disclosures as evidence that even guarded information can become public.
The advocates expressed their concerns this morning at the beginning of a two-day hearing on the rules, proposed by the state Revenue Department to regulate the thousands of medical-marijuana businesses that have sprung up in the last two years. About 30 advocates spoke during a public comment section of the hearing this morning.
"I am very concerned that many individuals ... will, due to the risk of having their information leaked, return to the black market," said Bruce Grainger, a dispensary owner who served on an advisory committee that helped craft some of the rules.
Grainger was not the only rule-writer who said he was concerned about aspects of the final draft. Jessica LeRoux â?? who owns Twirling Hippy Confections, which makes marijuana-infused pastries, and who was part of the advisory committee â?? said she was concerned about the system of remotely monitored security cameras dispensaries and other medical-marijuana facilities would be required to install. The systems would require technology that might not be available in rural areas of the state, she said.
Greg Goldfogel, another marijuana-infused products maker and advisory committee member, said he worried the so-called "70-30 rule," which requires dispensaries to grow 70 percent of the marijuana sold in their stores, had not been defined well enough.
"I believe that this work has been historic, effective and leaves a lot more work to be done," he said.
Like Goldfogel, a number of advocates took a measured approach to critiquing the proposed rules. Rob Corry, an attorney best known for fiery defenses of medical marijuana, said a number of the rules are positive.
"If some of these regulations go into place, hopefully what we'll see is the federal government bully will stay away from Colorado and leave us alone," he said.
Still, Corry said he was concerned about the privacy issues. One rule would require dispensaries to videotape all medical-marijuana purchases, including pictures of the medical-marijuana license of the patient making the purchse. Corry said police officers could gain access to that and use the information to harrass patients.
Others used stronger language in criticizing the proposed rules.
"These rules represent the fear and ignorance that led to the prohibition of this plant," said Evan Anderson, owner of 14er Holistics, a Boulder dispensary.
He said the rules would make it harder to buy medical-marijuana at a dispensary in Colorado than to buy pseudoephedrine at a pharmacy, even though the latter can be used to make methamphetamine.
"We want to be regulated," said Delita Boyd, owner of MaryJanes Medicinal dispensary in Dacono. "We want to follow the rules. But we want to be treated fairly. ... Just because of the business we're in, we shouldn't be treated any differently than any other small mom-and-pop shops."
The hearing is scheduled to continue through tomorrow. It is being held at the Jefferson County Justice Center in Golden.
A lineup of medical-marijuana activists and business owners said today the state's proposed new rules for the cannabis industry threaten patient privacy.
Requirements that transactions at dispensaries be videotaped, purchases be documented and personal information be recorded could cause many of the state's more than 115,000 medical-marijuana patients to opt out of the system and return to buying pot on the street, advocates said. State officials say details of the purchases would be kept in a secure online database, but medical-marijuana advocates pointed to recent WikiLeaks disclosures as evidence that even guarded information can become public.
The advocates expressed their concerns this morning at the beginning of a two-day hearing on the rules, proposed by the state Revenue Department to regulate the thousands of medical-marijuana businesses that have sprung up in the last two years. About 30 advocates spoke during a public comment section of the hearing this morning.
"I am very concerned that many individuals ... will, due to the risk of having their information leaked, return to the black market," said Bruce Grainger, a dispensary owner who served on an advisory committee that helped craft some of the rules.
Grainger was not the only rule-writer who said he was concerned about aspects of the final draft. Jessica LeRoux â?? who owns Twirling Hippy Confections, which makes marijuana-infused pastries, and who was part of the advisory committee â?? said she was concerned about the system of remotely monitored security cameras dispensaries and other medical-marijuana facilities would be required to install. The systems would require technology that might not be available in rural areas of the state, she said.
Greg Goldfogel, another marijuana-infused products maker and advisory committee member, said he worried the so-called "70-30 rule," which requires dispensaries to grow 70 percent of the marijuana sold in their stores, had not been defined well enough.
"I believe that this work has been historic, effective and leaves a lot more work to be done," he said.
Like Goldfogel, a number of advocates took a measured approach to critiquing the proposed rules. Rob Corry, an attorney best known for fiery defenses of medical marijuana, said a number of the rules are positive.
"If some of these regulations go into place, hopefully what we'll see is the federal government bully will stay away from Colorado and leave us alone," he said.
Still, Corry said he was concerned about the privacy issues. One rule would require dispensaries to videotape all medical-marijuana purchases, including pictures of the medical-marijuana license of the patient making the purchse. Corry said police officers could gain access to that and use the information to harrass patients.
Others used stronger language in criticizing the proposed rules.
"These rules represent the fear and ignorance that led to the prohibition of this plant," said Evan Anderson, owner of 14er Holistics, a Boulder dispensary.
He said the rules would make it harder to buy medical-marijuana at a dispensary in Colorado than to buy pseudoephedrine at a pharmacy, even though the latter can be used to make methamphetamine.
"We want to be regulated," said Delita Boyd, owner of MaryJanes Medicinal dispensary in Dacono. "We want to follow the rules. But we want to be treated fairly. ... Just because of the business we're in, we shouldn't be treated any differently than any other small mom-and-pop shops."
The hearing is scheduled to continue through tomorrow. It is being held at the Jefferson County Justice Center in Golden.