Marijuana Advocates Converge In Worcester Today
The state's Department of Public Health (DPH) will hold the first of three listening sessions on medical marijuana regulation today at the Worcester Public Library.
Several medical marijuana advocates have announced that they intend to provide input to DPH at the 2 p.m. forum, which comes about three months after Massachusetts voters passed a ballot measure legalizing medical marijuana.
Groups set to speak today include the Massachusetts Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA), the Coalition for Responsible Patient Care (CRPC) and the CEO of Medbox Inc., a California-based company hoping to see a new market in Massachusetts for its marijuana dispensing machines.
The DPH is seeking public input on such topics as patient eligibility and debilitating medical conditions; guidance and training for doctors; and operations, security requirements and monitoring for marijuana dispensaries. Speakers will be given a maximum of three minutes to offer their opinions.
The CRPC, which is a trade association for the medical marijuana industry, said it supports mandatory independent lab testing of medical marijuana as well as the creation of a special medical marijuana enforcement division under DPH that would be funded through licensing fees.
Shaleen Title, head of the MMMA and an attorney with Colorado medical marijuana law firm Vicente Sederberg —which has a Massachusetts office —said her organization will urge regulators to expedite the regulation-making process so that patients with debilitating conditions can access marijuana as soon as possible. The association will also call for the DPH to not put any limitations on which patients could qualify for medical marijuana, saying it should be left to physicians to decide.
Many physicians, however, are uncomfortable with the idea. The Massachusetts Medical Society has asked the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to reclassify marijuana so that its potential medicinal use can be further studied and potentially regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The medical society, which opposed the medical marijuana ballot measure, adopted a policy after it passed, saying it would advocate for physician certification standards; that regulators consider the implications of marijuana use on occupational health and safety; and that marijuana be a part of the state's prescription monitoring program, among other provisions.
Check back with wbjournal.com later this afternoon for more.
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