A state legislator and a former state Supreme Court justice said Friday that they're concerned that proposed Board of Health regulations governing the testing of medical marijuana may be too strict.
"If we regulate this to the point where it costs so much that people can't afford it, people might as well have not have voted for it," former Supreme Court Justice Paul Danielson said.
Danielson, now an attorney in private practice, spoke during a public hearing in Little Rock on the regulations, which will govern applications from patients who want to use medical marijuana, as well as the labeling and testing of the drug.
The regulations will go to state legislative committees, then to the state Board of Health for final approval, said Robert Brech, the Health Department's general counsel.
[BILL TRACKER: See the status of all marijuana-related bills in Arkansas Legislature]
Danielson said a requirement that cultivation centers test every 10-pound batch of marijuana for pesticides is excessive and will drive up the cost of the drug.
State Rep. Doug House, a key sponsor of legislation implementing the voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana, expressed similar concerns after the hearing.
"You can write these laboratory testing standards so high there's not really a laboratory in Arkansas that can qualify," said House, R-North Little Rock.
Brech said the proposed rules on testing were based on those in place in Oregon and Massachusetts and on recommendations from the American Public Health Laboratory Association.
He said he expects private laboratories to meet the demand for testing in the state.
Daniel Sanders, a researcher at a Little Rock laboratory, had a different concern about the testing rules. Unlike some other states' rules, Arkansas' proposed regulations don't require testing for salmonella, fungi and other contaminants, he said.
"You get one case of someone getting seriously sick from a tainted batch, and that's a huge gray mark, not only to Arkansas but to anyone else down in this area trying to bring it to the state," Sanders said.
Brech said the board will probably approve the rules as written in order for them to go into effect by a May 8 deadline set by the Legislature.
Any substantive changes would require the board to restart the rulemaking process, including holding another 30-day public comment period.
But after the rules go into effect, Brech said, "I wouldn't be surprised if we open it up fairly quickly to address some of the minor issues that have come up."
Storm Nolan, a founder of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association, said he's concerned the regulations could limit access to the drug. He cited the proposed $50 fee for patients to obtain cards from the Health Department allowing them to have the drug, as well as the process for petitioning to expand the list of conditions for which a card can be issued.
The qualifying conditions, listed in the amendment and regulations, include cancer, severe arthritis, Crohn's disease and chronic conditions causing "intractable pain," severe nausea or seizures, among several others.
After the hearing, Nolan said he hopes Arkansas doesn't become like some other states that have legalized medical marijuana but have a struggling industry.
For instance, he said, about 16,000 patients in Illinois use medical marijuana, compared to 340,000 in Colorado.
"If we don't set up our industry right, patients will go to the black market," he said.
The Board of Health is one of three entities directed by a voter-approved amendment to the state constitution to develop rules to facilitate the sale of medical marijuana in the state.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is developing rules governing the operations of dispensaries and cultivation facilities, while the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission, created by the amendment, is responsible for licensing the facilities.
Brech said the Health Department likely will begin accepting applications for patient registration cards in June but won't issue the cards until some time later -- ideally about 30 days before medical marijuana becomes available for sale in the state.
Metro on 03/11/2017