SENATE BILL 8

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2017

INTRODUCED BY

Cisco McSorley

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

AN ACT

RELATING TO HEALTH; AMENDING AND ENACTING SECTIONS OF THE LYNN AND ERIN COMPASSIONATE USE ACT TO PROVIDE FOR PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY AND THREE-YEAR CERTIFICATION AND TO ESTABLISH NEW CONTENT AND POSSESSION STANDARDS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. Section 26-2B-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 210, Section 1) is amended to read:

     "26-2B-1. SHORT TITLE.--[Sections 1 through 7 of this act] Chapter 26, Article 2B NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act" in honor of Lynn Pierson and Erin Armstrong."

     SECTION 2. Section 26-2B-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 210, Section 3) is amended to read:

     "26-2B-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act:

          A. "adequate supply" means an amount of cannabis, in any form approved by the department, possessed by a qualified patient or collectively possessed by a qualified patient and the qualified patient's primary caregiver [that is determined by rule of the department to be no more than reasonably necessary to ensure the uninterrupted availability of cannabis for a period of three months] in accordance with Section 5 of this 2017 act and that is derived solely from an intrastate source;

          B. "debilitating medical condition" means:

                (1) cancer;

                (2) glaucoma;

                (3) multiple sclerosis;

                (4) damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord, with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity;

                (5) epilepsy;

                (6) positive status for human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immune deficiency syndrome;

                (7) admitted into hospice care in accordance with rules promulgated by the department; or

                (8) any other medical condition, medical treatment or disease as approved by the department;

          C. "department" means the department of health;

          D. "licensed producer" means any person or association of persons within New Mexico that the department determines to be qualified to produce, possess, distribute and dispense cannabis pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act and that is licensed by the department;

          E. "practitioner" means a person licensed in New Mexico to prescribe and administer drugs that are subject to the Controlled Substances Act;

          F. "primary caregiver" means a resident of New Mexico who is at least eighteen years of age and who has been designated by the patient's practitioner as being necessary to take responsibility for managing the well-being of a qualified patient with respect to the medical use of cannabis pursuant to the provisions of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

          G. "qualified patient" means a resident of New Mexico who has been diagnosed by a practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition and has received written certification and a registry identification card issued pursuant to the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

          H. "registry identification card" means a document that the department issues:

                (1) to a qualified patient that identifies the bearer as a qualified patient and authorizes the qualified patient to use cannabis for a debilitating medical condition; or

                (2) to a primary caregiver that identifies the bearer as a primary caregiver authorized to engage in the intrastate possession and administration of cannabis for the sole use of a qualified patient who is identified on the document;

          I. "THC" means tetrahydrocannabinol, a substance that is the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis; and

          [H.] J. "written certification" means a statement in a patient's medical records or a statement signed by a patient's practitioner that, in the practitioner's professional opinion, the patient has a debilitating medical condition and the practitioner believes that the potential health benefits of the medical use of cannabis would likely outweigh the health risks for the patient [A written certification is not valid for more than one year from the date of issuance]."

     SECTION 3. Section 26-2B-7 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2007, Chapter 210, Section 7) is amended to read:

     "26-2B-7. REGISTRY IDENTIFICATION CARDS--DEPARTMENT RULES--DUTIES--PRESUMPTIVE ELIGIBILITY.--

          A. [No later than October 1, 2007, and] After consultation with the advisory board, the department shall promulgate rules in accordance with the State Rules Act to implement the purpose of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act. The rules shall:

                (1) govern the manner in which the department will consider applications for registry identification cards and for the renewal of identification cards for qualified patients and primary caregivers;

                [(2) define the amount of cannabis that is necessary to constitute an adequate supply, including amounts for topical treatments;

                (3)] (2) identify criteria and set forth procedures for including additional medical conditions, medical treatments or diseases to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for the medical use of cannabis. Procedures shall include a petition process and shall allow for public comment and public hearings before the advisory board;

                [(4)] (3) set forth additional medical conditions, medical treatments or diseases to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for the medical use of cannabis as recommended by the advisory board;

                [(5)] (4) identify requirements for the licensure of producers and cannabis production facilities and set forth procedures to obtain licenses;

                [(6)] (5) develop a distribution system for medical cannabis that provides for:

                     (a) cannabis production facilities within New Mexico housed on secured grounds and operated by licensed producers; and

                     (b) distribution of medical cannabis to qualified patients or their primary caregivers to take place at locations that are designated by the department and that are not within three hundred feet of any school, church or daycare center;

                [(7)] (6) determine additional duties and responsibilities of the advisory board; and

                [(8)] (7) be revised and updated as necessary.

          B. The department shall issue registry identification cards to a patient and to the primary caregiver for that patient, if any, who submit the following, in accordance with the department's rules:

                (1) a written certification;

                (2) the name, address and date of birth of the patient;

                (3) the name, address and telephone number of the patient's practitioner; and

                (4) the name, address and date of birth of the patient's primary caregiver, if any.

          C. The department shall presume eligible and issue, within thirty days of receipt of application completed in accordance with Subsection B of this section and department rules, a registry identification card to any person who applies for a registry identification card. The department shall verify the information contained in an application submitted pursuant to Subsection B of this section [and shall approve or deny an application within thirty days of receipt]. The department may deny an application only if the applicant did not provide the information required pursuant to Subsection B of this section or if the department determines that the information provided is false. A person whose application has been denied shall not reapply for six months from the date of the denial unless otherwise authorized by the department.

          D. [The department shall issue a registry identification card within five days of approving an application, and a card shall expire one year after the date of issuance.] A registry identification card shall contain:

                (1) the name, address and date of birth of the qualified patient and primary caregiver, if any;

                (2) the date of issuance and expiration date of the registry identification card; and

                (3) other information that the department may require by rule.

          E. A person who possesses a registry identification card shall notify the department of any change in the person's name, address, qualified patient's practitioner, qualified patient's primary caregiver or change in status of the qualified patient's debilitating medical condition within ten days of the change.

          F. Possession of or application for a registry identification card shall not constitute probable cause or give rise to reasonable suspicion for a governmental agency to search the person or property of the person possessing or applying for the card.

          G. The department shall maintain a confidential file containing the names and addresses of the persons who have either applied for or received a registry identification card. Individual names on the list shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure, except:

                (1) to authorized employees or agents of the department as necessary to perform the duties of the department pursuant to the provisions of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

                (2) to authorized employees of state or local law enforcement agencies, but only for the purpose of verifying that a person is lawfully in possession of a registry identification card; or

                (3) as provided in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996."

     SECTION 4. A new section of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] REGISTRY IDENTIFICATION CARD--RENEWAL--WRITTEN CERTIFICATION.--The department shall require a qualified patient to reapply for a registry identification card as follows:

          A. for a qualified patient whose certification of a debilitating medical condition indicates that the patient's debilitating medical condition is a chronic condition, no sooner than three years from the date the patient's current registry identification card is issued; and

          B. for a qualified patient whose certification of a debilitating medical condition does not indicate that the patient's debilitating medical condition is a chronic condition, no sooner than one year from the date the patient's current registry identification card is issued."

     SECTION 5. A new section of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act is enacted to read:

     "[NEW MATERIAL] ADEQUATE SUPPLY--BAN ON RESTRICTION OF THC CONTENT.--

          A. A qualified patient or a primary caregiver shall possess no more than five ounces of cannabis during any thirty-day period.

          B. A licensed producer shall possess no more than one thousand cannabis plants during any three-month period.

          C. The department shall not limit the amount of THC concentration in a cannabis-derived product that a qualified patient or a primary caregiver possesses."

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