cannabisnews.com: Colorado's Medical-Pot Rules

cannabisnews.com: Colorado's Medical-Pot Rules
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Colorado's Medical-Pot Rules
Posted by CN Staff on November 22, 2010 at 15:14:57 PT
By Stephanie Simon
Source: Wall Street Journal
Denver -- Colorado state regulators are putting the final touches on a fat stack of rules aimed at monitoring, recording and tracking every aspect of the booming medical-marijuana industry, from seed to sale.The regulatory system—more rigorous and comprehensive than in any other state—will likely require pot growers to place tags on every plant and train security cameras on their cultivation rooms around the clock.
Cannabis dispensaries, meanwhile, will likely be required to record high-resolution video of every customer's face and photo identification and then link that footage to a computer record of each purchase. Even the moment when the dried weed is weighed for sale will have to be captured on video, according to draft regulations now being finalized.State regulators and local law enforcement—who say they are determined to prevent medical pot from being diverted to the black market—will have the authority to review any surveillance tape at any time, without a warrant. "We don't ask. We just go look," said Matt Cook, senior director of the state's medical-marijuana enforcement division.That's not popular with patients, who say they shouldn't have to sacrifice their privacy to get access to medication. Some lawyers who work with the medical-pot industry say the regulations might be vulnerable to a constitutional challenge. But state officials say they have the right to impose strict controls, since marijuana remains a controlled substance under state law, legal only for registered patients and only in specified quantities. "You give up a lot of your Fourth Amendment rights when you're dealing with a controlled substance," Mr. Cook said.Medical marijuana is legal in Washington, D.C., and 15 states. Many of them have minimal regulations aimed at limiting the amount of marijuana that a patient can legally possess and cultivate. Other regulations tend to be a patchwork: Some states require patients to register, but some don't. Some allow dispensaries, while others rely on patients to grow the pot themselves or obtain it from registered "caregivers." New Jersey, Arizona and Washington, D.C., are all working on comprehensive regulations. Meanwhile, individual cities and counties in many states are busy drafting their own restrictions.Colorado has led the way in regulation. Anyone seeking to open or invest in a medical-marijuana business must fill out a 22-page form that asks for character references, criminal records, bank statements and income-tax returns—even copies of the applicant's college diplomas and, if applicable, divorce decrees.Pharmaceutical pot is a growth industry in Colorado. The state has 113,000 residents registered as medical-marijuana patients, and several thousand new applications coming in every month.So far, 1,218 pot farms, 808 dispensaries and 318 businesses that infuse candy, olive oils, pizzas and other edibles with marijuana have applied for state licenses. Every facet of their operations will soon be governed by the new regulations, which run about 100 pages and are likely to be phased in beginning early next year.The state's goals: to keep track of every ounce of cannabis that is part of the legal medical-marijuana industry; to keep the drug from the black market; and to make it easy for law enforcement to spot and investigate suspicious behavior. For example, investigators could detect if one patient is buying pot at multiple outlets in a single day or if a greenhouse worker is slipping cannabis seedlings into his pocket, state officials said.The state Department of Revenue, which will enforce the rules, plans a full-time staff of 40 to 50, funded entirely by annual licensing fees of up to $18,000 imposed on pot-related businesses, said Julie Postlethwait, a department spokeswoman.Regulators scrapped some early proposals, such as requiring patients to submit to a retinal scan before each purchase, but the draft rules are still "far more bureaucratic and burdensome than in any other state," said Keith Stroup, legal counsel for NORML, which works for legalization of marijuana.Mr. Stroup predicted, to his disappointment, that the regulations would become a model for other states.In Colorado, patient advocates have raised concerns about invasion of privacy and warned that dispensary prices will rise to cover the cost of complying with the regulations."There's a tipping point where an overly regulated system is going to send a lot of people back to the black market" to buy their marijuana, said Dan Pope, a resident of Longmont, Colo., who says he takes the drug to ease symptoms from his muscular dystrophy.But for all their anxiety, some in the industry can't help but feel a bit delighted that the state is taking them so seriously."For years, the only discussion was, 'How long should we lock people up for possessing marijuana?' " said Brian Vicente, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a patient-advocacy group. "Now we're discussing what the font should be on the label of a medical-marijuana brownie."Source: Wall Street Journal (US)Author: Stephanie SimonPublished: November 23, 2010Copyright: 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.Contact: wsj.ltrs wsj.comWebsite: http://www.wsj.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/UQfG9UQQCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on November 24, 2010 at 18:39:56 PT
ekim
And I wish the same for you.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #21 posted by ekim on November 24, 2010 at 18:30:19 PT
ab kinda like noliemri dot somethingorother
seems blade runner is here with the airport screens how fast will they mimic the cameras.hope all the best thanks giving day ever
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #20 posted by Hope on November 24, 2010 at 05:35:46 PT
Afterburner
I'm not totally surprised. It's crazy.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #19 posted by afterburner on November 23, 2010 at 20:16:10 PT
And
Big Pharma nanotechnology encodes pills with tracking data that ...15 Jul 2010 ... Big Pharma nanotechnology encodes pills with tracking data that you swallow.
www.naturalnews.com/029210_nanotechnology_medicines.html
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Comment #18 posted by afterburner on November 23, 2010 at 20:12:39 PT
Hope, Check This Out
"Tracing every pill and every chemical it's made out of , from it's production to the exact right patient for consumption and who touched it or looked at it peculiarly any where along the way."Big Brother to track your medication compliance with electronic transmitters in pills.
27 Apr 2010 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com
www.naturalnews.com/028663_health_care_technology.html{
... "Emerging technologies allow pills to be electronically outfitted with transmitters to communicate with the user's wristwatch that shows that the pill has been consumed," said University of Virginia professor Robin Felder at the committee meeting. ... It's not enough for the government to monitor your phone calls, scan your emails and watch you sunbathing on your back porch with spy satellites; now they want to snoop into your bloodstream and monitor what you've been eating, drinking or swallowing. ...
}
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #17 posted by Hope on November 23, 2010 at 12:35:32 PT
Arrrgh
"State regulators and local law enforcement—who say they are determined to prevent medical pot from being diverted to the black market—will have the authority to review any surveillance tape at any time, without a warrant. "We don't ask. We just go look," said Matt Cook, senior director of the state's medical-marijuana enforcement division.That's not popular with patients, who say they shouldn't have to sacrifice their privacy to get access to medication. Some lawyers who work with the medical-pot industry say the regulations might be vulnerable to a constitutional challenge. But state officials say they have the right to impose strict controls, since marijuana remains a controlled substance under state law, legal only for registered patients and only in specified quantities. "You give up a lot of your Fourth Amendment rights when you're dealing with a controlled substance," Mr. Cook said."
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #16 posted by Hope on November 23, 2010 at 12:21:20 PT
Storm Crow
"If cannabis is going to be restricted in such a manner, so should the more dangerous pharmaceutical drugs!"Imagine. An oxycontin industry and dispensaries and registrations... and "security". Scare stories. Hate stories. Licenses. Fees. Criminal checks. Ruining the neighborhood stories. Dangerous people. Hullaboo. NIMBYs. Save The Children. Fingerprints. Eye scans. Tracing every pill and every chemical it's made out of , from it's production to the exact right patient for consumption and who touched it or looked at it peculiarly any where along the way.And thank you, Storm Crow, for you encouragement. It helps.
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Comment #15 posted by Storm Crow on November 23, 2010 at 10:37:11 PT
2 things-
(A) Way to go, Hope! Round one is over. You won! Round two (radiation therapy) is when you give that cancer the final "knock-out punch"! Keep hanging in there, hon!(B) If Colorado does that to "protect" the public from a safe, effective, never-lethal herbal medicine, what restrictive measures are appropriate for side-effect laden, addictive, and sometimes fatal drugs like Oxycontin? Especially when you consider this article from The Independent-
"CDC survey finds 1 in 5 youths abuse prescription drugs"
http://theindependent.com/articles/2010/06/14/news/local/11933411.txtTo use an old saying- "What's sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander!" If cannabis is going to be restricted in such a manner, so should the more dangerous pharmaceutical drugs!Of course, Big Pharma has the bucks and a huge fleet of lawyers to block such an "insane" regulation that would severely curtail their very profitable business! Cannabis patients don't have that legal fire-power. All we have are our voices! Time for all of us to "join the choir" and get heard!And for you new folks at Cannabis News, be sure to take a peek at "Granny Storm Crow's MMJ Reference List" to see just what cannabis can do medically!
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Comment #14 posted by ekim on November 23, 2010 at 10:29:51 PT
just saw this but have not read the study
http://michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/topic/25842-medical-marijuana-stops-spread-of-breast-cancer/page__pid__234444#entry234444
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #13 posted by FoM on November 23, 2010 at 09:50:04 PT
Hope
I know my great nephew's wife takes a pill everyday and will take that pill forever but it doesn't cause her any problems.
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on November 23, 2010 at 09:38:18 PT
Thank you for the prayers and good vibes.
Apparently, mine has been a miraculous and blessed journey.Only once to the emergency room... and they made me go then, and only one stay, for nine days, in the hospital, for the blood clot thing. I'm made to understand, often, that that's pretty miraculous, and with stage three and the sort of chemo I've been getting. The word I hear often is "Incredibly". As in, I'm doing "Incredibly" well. :0) And yes... I'm amazed and a tiny little bit leery at the no mastectomy business. I don't have that gene for breast cancer though, and the more they cut... the harder it is to recover from. So this is what they, my medical "team", and they see it all the time... it's their business, year in and year out, think is best for me, without any panic thinking and cut it off hysteria involved. I'm very lucky and very blessed under the circumstances. Very lucky and very blessed. This disease isn't going to kill me and I'll be around kicking up a fuss, when necessary, for quite a while yet.Thank you all for caring.
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on November 23, 2010 at 09:12:47 PT
chemo
I'm pretty sure there will be chemical... or chemo pills to take for awhile. There usually is. But I don't know about that yet. One step at a time.I can't have any of these particular chemo treatments again though... ever... even if the cancer comes back. There's a lifetime limit on what they think your body can stand where they know it is going to be more downhill from treatment, after a point, than uphill.
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on November 23, 2010 at 09:09:18 PT
I'm expecting a sort of "break" between
surgery, the lumpectomy, and the beginning of radiation. They're supposed to let the surgery heal pretty well before they start directing radiation at it. Radiation apparently will burn wounds worse than non wounded flesh. I kind of wonder how protected one's heart and lungs are from such rays. My poor liver. I think it's already been pushed into spasms some times. I've become convinced lately that what I thought was crazy muscle spasms is actually my liver spazzing and convulsing.*sigh*The main chemo is over though. I'm very thankful I made it through it.... or am making it through it.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on November 23, 2010 at 08:39:56 PT
Hope
You made it thru the chemo. That is wonderful. Once the surgery is over you will get at least a 4 week break until they start radiation right? PS: I don't get upset anymore. I must try to keep my blood pressure from going any higher.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on November 23, 2010 at 08:35:56 PT
Por1
Yes... apparently I was posting at about the same time you were posting. Wasn't correcting or anything... just mumbling some information.:0)Don't feel so hot. No long, drawn out rants, explanations, or tirades from me for a while. Just mumbling and gesturing from the sidelines.Love you guys, so much.Finished my last chemo infusion. Haven't recovered from it yet... but don't have to go get another one just as I might start recovering from the last one. That's a relief.I still can't get over what the prohibitionist believers feel like they have a right to do to other people, even kill them, over their "keeper of prohibition" beliefs.
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Comment #7 posted by por1 on November 23, 2010 at 04:14:41 PT
the moment
I posted that I saw I was wrong and reposted
The more I find out about this the madder I get at our state law makers and and now these rule makers these people are nutts
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on November 22, 2010 at 17:08:15 PT
The second amendment is about
the right to keep and bear arms.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #5 posted by Hope on November 22, 2010 at 17:06:04 PT
The fourth amendment is about
protection from unreasonable search and seizure.
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Comment #4 posted by por1 on November 22, 2010 at 16:58:59 PT
oops the 4th amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. Ill still keep the guns
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Comment #3 posted by por1 on November 22, 2010 at 16:51:15 PT:
Sam
I agree one hundred percent on becoming like the old Soviet Union.
Isnt the 4th amendment the right to bare arms?
What does that have to to do with pataints rights?
I only go to the "centers" to check out what they have and get a small sample.I for one will no longer enter one once they do this.I feel for those who need to use them.
Oh Ill keep my guns too [not that I use them but they are mine]becouse its my right.
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on November 22, 2010 at 16:24:32 PT
arcane rules
Once again I point out how much we are becoming like the old Soviet Union.Senseless bureaucracy weighing so heavy on commerce that it destroys the economy. Many empires have expired this way.The irony is, of course, that the cops and politicians are the pitiful liars and cheaters, the ones with totally corrupt moral character.>>>"You give up a lot of your Fourth Amendment rights when you're dealing with a controlled substance," Mr. Cook said.Oh? Can you direct me to the part of the 4th Amendment that covers "controlled substances" and exceptions? I must have missed that the last time I checked the Constitution.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 22, 2010 at 15:33:54 PT
News from NewJerseyNewsroom.com
N.J. Assembly Votes To Invalidate Health Department's Proposed Medical Marijuana RegulationsNovember 22, 2010New Jersey -- Legislation that would declare the Christie administration's draft regulations for New Jersey's medicinal marijuana law as inconsistent with the law's intent was approved 48-22-7 Monday by the Assembly.The measure (ACR-151) moves to the Senate, for consideration. As a legislative resolution, it does not require Gov. Chris Christie's approval. Instead, it would give the state health commissioner 30 days to revise the proposed medical marijuana rules for the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.URL: http://drugsense.org/url/8RBg1GkR
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