Chapter 229
2010 -- S 2834 AS AMENDED
Enacted 06/25/10
A N A C T
RELATING TO FOOD
AND DRUGS -- MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACT
Introduced By: Senator Rhoda E. Perry
Date Introduced: April 29, 2010
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 21-28.6-6 of the General Laws in Chapter
21-28.6 entitled "The
Edward O. Hawkins and
Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
21-28.6-6.
Administration of regulations. -- (a) The department shall issue registry
identification cards to qualifying patients who submit the
following, in accordance with the
department's regulations:
(1) Written
certification as defined in section 21-28.6-3(14) of this chapter;
(2) Application or
renewal fee;
(3) Name, address, and
date of birth of the qualifying patient; provided, however, that if
the patient is homeless, no address is required;
(4) Name, address, and
telephone number of the qualifying patient's practitioner; and
(5) Name, address, and
date of birth of each primary caregiver of the qualifying patient,
if any.
(b) The department
shall not issue a registry identification card to a qualifying patient
under the age of eighteen (18) unless:
(1) The qualifying
patient's practitioner has explained the potential risks and benefits of
the medical use of marijuana to the qualifying patient
and to a parent, guardian or person having
legal custody of the qualifying patient; and
(2) A parent, guardian
or person having legal custody consents in writing to:
(i)
Allow the qualifying patient's medical use of marijuana;
(ii) Serve as one of
the qualifying patient's primary caregivers; and
(iii) Control the
acquisition of the marijuana, the dosage, and the frequency of the
medical use of marijuana by the qualifying patient.
(c) The department
shall verify the information contained in an application or renewal
submitted pursuant to this section, and shall approve or deny
an application or renewal within
fifteen (15) days of receiving it. The department may deny an
application or renewal only if the
applicant did not provide the information required pursuant to
this section, or if the department
determines that the information provided was falsified.
Rejection of an application or renewal is
considered a final department action, subject to judicial
review. Jurisdiction and venue for
judicial review are vested in the superior court.
(d) The department
shall issue a registry identification card to each primary caregiver, if
any, who is named in a qualifying patient's approved
application, up to a maximum of two (2)
primary caregivers per qualifying patient. A person may not
serve as a primary caregiver if he or
she has a felony drug conviction, unless the department
waives this restriction in respect to a
specific individual at the department's discretion.
Additionally, the department shall allow the
person to serve as a primary caregiver if the department
determines that the offense was for
conduct that occurred prior to the enactment of the Edward O.
Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater
Medical Marijuana Act or that was prosecuted by an
authority other than the state of Rhode
Island and for which the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas
C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act
would otherwise have prevented a conviction.
(e) The department
shall issue registry identification cards within five (5) days of
approving an application or renewal, which shall expire two (2)
years after the date of issuance.
Registry identification cards shall contain:
(1) The date of
issuance and expiration date of the registry identification card;
(2) A random registry
identification number; and
(3) A photograph; and
(4) Any additional
information as required by regulation or the department.
(f) Persons issued
registry identification cards shall be subject to the following:
(1) A qualifying
patient who has been issued a registry identification card shall notify the
department of any change in the qualifying patient's name,
address, or primary caregiver; or if the
qualifying patient ceases to have his or her debilitating
medical condition, within ten (10) days of
such change.
(2) A registered
qualifying patient who fails to notify the department of any of these
changes is responsible for a civil infraction, punishable by
a fine of no more than one hundred
fifty dollars ($150). If the person has ceased to suffer
from a debilitating medical condition, the
card shall be deemed null and void and the person shall be
liable for any other penalties that may
apply to the person's nonmedical use of marijuana.
(3) A registered
primary caregiver, principal officer, board member, employee,
volunteer, or agent of a compassion center shall notify the
department of any change in his or her
name or address within ten (10) days of such change. A
primary caregiver, principal officer,
board member, employee, volunteer, or agent of a compassion
center who fails to notify the
department of any of these changes is responsible for a civil
infraction, punishable by a fine of no
more than one hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(4) When a qualifying
patient or primary caregiver notifies the department of any
changes listed in this subsection, the department shall issue
the registered qualifying patient and
each primary caregiver a new registry identification card
within ten (10) days of receiving the
updated information and a ten dollar ($10.00) fee. When a
principal officer, board member,
employee, volunteer, or agent of a compassion center notifies
the department of any changes
listed in this subsection, the department shall issue the
cardholder a new registry identification
card within ten (10) days of receiving the updated
information and a ten dollar ($10.00) fee.
(5) When a qualifying
patient who possesses a registry identification card changes his or
her primary caregiver, the department shall notify the
primary caregiver within ten (10) days. The
primary caregiver's protections as provided in this chapter
as to that patient shall expire ten (10)
days after notification by the department.
(6) If a cardholder loses
his or her registry identification card, he or she shall notify the
department and submit a ten dollar ($10.00) fee within ten (10)
days of losing the card. Within
five (5) days, the department shall issue a new registry
identification card with new random
identification number.
(7) If a cardholder
willfully violates any provision of this chapter as determined by the
department, his or her registry identification card may be
revoked.
(g) Possession of, or
application for, a registry identification card shall not constitute
probable cause or reasonable suspicion, nor shall it be used
to support the search of the person or
property of the person possessing or applying for the registry
identification card, or otherwise
subject the person or property of the person to inspection by
any governmental agency.
(h) (1) Applications
and supporting information submitted by qualifying patients,
including information regarding their primary caregivers and
practitioners, are confidential and
protected under the federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996, and shall
be exempt from the provisions of the RIGL chapter 38-2
et seq. the
records act and not subject to disclosure, except to authorized
employees of the department as
necessary to perform official duties of the department.
(2) The department
shall maintain a confidential list of the persons to whom the
department has issued registry identification cards. Individual
names and other identifying
information on the list shall be confidential, exempt from the
provisions of Rhode Island Access
to Public Information, chapter 2 of title 38, and not
subject to disclosure, except to authorized
employees of the department as necessary to perform official
duties of the department.
(i)
The department shall verify to law enforcement personnel whether a registry
identification card is valid solely by confirming the random
registry identification number.
(j) It shall be a crime,
punishable by up to one hundred eighty (180) days in jail and a
one thousand dollar ($1,000) fine, for any person,
including an employee or official of the
department or another state agency or local government, to
breach the confidentiality of
information obtained pursuant to this chapter. Notwithstanding
this provision, the department
employees may notify law enforcement about falsified or
fraudulent information submitted to the
department.
(k) On or before January
1 of each odd numbered year, the department shall report to the
House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare and
to the Senate Committee on Health and
Human Services on the use of
marijuana for symptom relief. The
report shall provide:
(1) The number of
applications for registry identification cards, the number of qualifying
patients and primary caregivers approved, the nature of the
debilitating medical conditions of the
qualifying patients, the number of registry identification cards
revoked, and the number of
practitioners providing written certification for qualifying
patients;
(2) An evaluation of
the costs permitting the use of marijuana for symptom relief,
including any costs to law enforcement agencies and costs of
any litigation;
(3) Statistics
regarding the number of marijuana-related prosecutions against registered
patients and caregivers, and an analysis of the facts
underlying those prosecutions;
(4) Statistics
regarding the number of prosecutions against physicians for violations of
this chapter; and
(5) Whether the United
States Food and Drug Administration has altered its position
regarding the use of marijuana for medical purposes or has
approved alternative delivery systems
for marijuana.
(6) The application for
qualifying patients' registry identification card shall include a
question asking whether the patient would like the department
to notify him or her of any clinical
studies about marijuana's risk or efficacy. The department shall
inform those patients who answer
in the affirmative of any such studies it is notified
of, that will be conducted in
department may also notify those patients of medical studies
conducted outside of
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02388
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