Bill Text: HI SB703 | 2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Medical Marijuana; Registration; Department of Health
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-01-22 - Referred to HTH/PSM, WAM. [SB703 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2013-SB703-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
703 |
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TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to medical marijuana.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the highest priority of the medical cannabis working group, which examined issues relating to Hawaii's medical marijuana program and conducted a survey of registered patients in Hawaii, is to create a distribution system to prevent patients from being forced to resort to the black market to obtain medicine. The medical cannabis working group's February 2010 report to the Hawaii legislature notes that without a system of medical marijuana dispensaries, qualifying patients in the medical marijuana program in Hawaii do not have access to a safe and legal supply of medicine.
The current system has forced many patients to turn to black market sources to obtain medication when they are unable to grow a sufficient supply for their medical needs, thus running the risk of violence, robbery, and procurement of low quality or adulterated marijuana, which is unacceptable as medicine. All of the stakeholders involved in the medical cannabis working group, from patients to caregivers to physicians, agree that it is imperative to address this serious omission in Hawaii's medical marijuana program.
Other jurisdictions have found that well regulated dispensaries can protect public safety while providing patients with high quality medicine in a confidential setting with professional standards of care. In addition to meeting this compelling need, a dispensary system offers revenue potential for the State or counties.
The purpose of this Act is to improve Hawaii's medical marijuana program by establishing registered dispensaries for medical marijuana patients in each county and transferring the medical marijuana program from the department of public safety to the department of health.
SECTION 2. Chapter 329, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part IX to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"§329- Registered dispensaries. (a) Dispensaries shall register with the department of health. Not later than ninety days after receiving an application for a nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary, the department of health shall register the dispensary to acquire, process, possess, transfer, transport, sell, distribute, dispense, and administer marijuana for medical use, and shall also issue a cultivation registration if:
(1) The prospective dispensary has submitted:
(A) An application fee in an amount to be determined by the department of health consistent with subsection (e);
(B) An application, including:
(i) The legal name and physical address of the dispensary and the physical address of one additional location, if any, where marijuana will be cultivated; and
(ii) The name, address, and date of birth of each principal officer and board member; and
(C) Operating procedures consistent with department of health rules for oversight, including cultivation and storage of marijuana only in secured facilities.
(2) None of the principal officers or board members has served as a principal officer or board member for a dispensary that has had its registration certificate revoked; and
(3) From July 1, 2013, to July 1, 2014, the department of health shall issue registrations for up to dispensaries; provided that at least one dispensary shall be located in each county, and not more than shall be located in any one county. In the event the department of health determines that the number of dispensaries is insufficient to meet patient needs, the department of health shall have the power to increase or modify the number of registered dispensaries.
(b) A dispensary registered under this section, and its dispensary agents registered under subsection (c), shall not be penalized or arrested under Hawaii law for acquiring, possessing, cultivating, processing, transferring, transporting, selling, distributing, and dispensing marijuana, products containing marijuana, and related supplies and educational materials, to qualifying patients or their personal caregivers.
(c) Dispensary agents shall register with the department of health before working or volunteering at a dispensary. No one shall be a dispensary agent who has been convicted of a felony drug offense. The department of health is authorized to conduct criminal record checks to enforce this subsection. All dispensaries shall:
(1) Apply to the department of health for a registration card for each affiliated dispensary agent by submitting the name, address, and date of birth of the agent; and
(2) Notify the department of health within one business day if a dispensary agent ceases to be associated with the dispensary, and the agent's registration card shall be immediately revoked.
(d) A dispensary agent shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or civil penalty under Hawaii law for actions taken under the authority of a dispensary; provided that the agent:
(1) Presents the agent's registration card to any law enforcement official who questions the agent concerning the agent's marijuana-related activities; and
(2) Is acting within all of the requirements of this section.
(e) The department of health shall adopt rules necessary for the implementation of this section, including rules establishing application fees for dispensaries to defray the department of health's administrative costs, no later than November 1, 2013."
SECTION 3. Section 329-121, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:
1. By adding three new definitions to be appropriately inserted and to read:
""Dispensary" means a not-for-profit entity registered with the department of health pursuant to section 329- that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including developing related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils, or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses, or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies, or educational materials to qualifying patients who have designated the dispensary or their registered primary caregivers to cultivate an adequate supply of medical marijuana for medical use.
"Dispensary agent" means an employee, staff volunteer, officer, or board member of a dispensary, who shall be at least twenty-one years of age.
"Secured facility" means an area equipped with locks, security cameras, alarms, or other security devices to prevent unauthorized access and theft, accessible only to dispensary agents, patients, or personal caregivers."
2. By amending the definitions of "qualifying patient" and "written communication" to read:
""Qualifying patient" means a person who has been diagnosed by a physician as having a debilitating medical condition. A qualifying patient may either cultivate an adequate supply of marijuana or designate a primary caregiver or dispensary to cultivate an adequate supply of marijuana for the medical use of the patient.
"Written certification" means the
qualifying patient's medical records or a statement signed by a qualifying
patient's physician, stating that in the physician's professional opinion, the
qualifying patient has a debilitating medical condition and the potential
benefits of the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the health risks
for the qualifying patient. The department of [public safety] health
may require, through its rulemaking authority, that all written certifications
comply with a designated form. "Written certifications" are valid
for only one year from the time of signing."
SECTION 4. Section 329-123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§329-123 Registration requirements.
(a) Physicians who issue written certifications shall [register the names,
addresses, patient identification numbers,] provide, in each
certification, the name, address, patient identification number, and other
identifying information of the qualifying patients [issued written
certifications with the department of public safety]. The information
shall include the physician's attestation that the qualifying patient has one
of the debilitating medical conditions defined in section 329-121 but shall not
name or describe the particular condition. If the physician issuing the
written certification is not the qualifying patient's primary care physician,
the issuing physician shall send a copy of the written certification to the
qualifying patient's primary care physician, if any.
(b) Qualifying patients shall register with
the department of [public safety] health. The registration shall
be effective until the expiration of the certificate issued by the department of
health and signed by the physician. Every qualifying patient shall provide
sufficient identifying information to establish the personal identities of the
qualifying patient and the primary caregiver. The registration form will
also require qualifying patients to specify whether they will cultivate
marijuana on their own or designate a primary caregiver or dispensary to
cultivate on their behalf. Qualifying patients shall report changes in
information within [five] ten working days. Every qualifying
patient shall have only one primary caregiver at any given time. The
department of health shall [then] issue to the qualifying patient
a registration certificate[,] and may charge a reasonable fee not to
exceed $35[.] per year.
(c) Primary caregivers shall register with the
department of [public safety.] health. Every primary caregiver
shall be responsible for the care of [only one] not more than five
qualifying [patient] patients at any given time.
(d) The department of health may require, in rules adopted under chapter 91, that a registration be based on information contained in a designated form completed by or on behalf of a qualifying patient. The form shall only require information from the applicant, primary caregiver, and certifying physician as specifically required or permitted by this chapter.
[(d)] (e) Upon [an]
inquiry by a law enforcement agency, the department of [public safety] health
shall verify whether the [particular qualifying patient] subject of
the inquiry has registered with the department of health and may
provide reasonable access to the registry information for official law
enforcement purposes."
SECTION 5. The department of public safety shall facilitate the transfer of functions pursuant to this Act by collaborating with, cooperating with, and assisting the department of health with assuming jurisdiction of and responsibility for the medical marijuana program as contained in this Act.
In order to facilitate the transfer of functions pursuant to this Act, until all relevant records are transferred to the department of health, the duties of the department of public safety shall include but not be limited to maintaining a confirmation service of the registration and certification of physicians, qualifying patients, and primary caregivers, pursuant to section 329-123, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that is full time, operating twenty-four hours per day and seven days per week, and is accessible to the department of health.
SECTION 6. All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the department of public safety relating to the medical use of marijuana under chapter 329, part IX, Hawaii Revised Statutes, are transferred to the department of health.
All officers and employees whose functions are transferred by this Act shall be transferred with their functions and shall continue to perform their regular duties upon their transfer, subject to the state personnel laws and this Act.
No officer or employee of the State having tenure shall suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a consequence of this Act, and such officer or employee may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the necessity of examination; provided that the officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and compensation laws.
An officer or employee of the State who does not have tenure and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil service position as a consequence of this Act shall become a civil service employee without the loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits or privileges and without the necessity of examination; provided that such officer or employee possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which transferred or appointed.
If an office or position held by an officer or employee having tenure is abolished, the officer or employee shall not thereby be separated from public employment, but shall remain in the employment of the State with the same pay and classification and shall be transferred to some other office or position for which the officer or employee is eligible under the personnel laws of the State as determined by the head of the department or the governor.
SECTION 7. All appropriations, records, equipment, machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents, maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used, acquired, or held by the department of public safety relating to the functions transferred to the department of health shall be transferred with the functions to which they relate.
SECTION 8. All designated forms for written certifications issued by the department of public safety shall be valid under the department of health until the department of health issues new designated forms.
SECTION 9. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 10. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2013.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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Report Title:
Medical Marijuana; Registration; Department of Health
Description:
Requires medical marijuana dispensaries to register their agents and their business with the department of health by submitting an application and fee. Transfers departmental jurisdiction of the medical marijuana laws from the department of public safety (DPS) to the department of health (DOH) and requires DPS to assist with the transfer. To facilitate the transfer, requires the DPS to continue to maintain a verification service to confirm registration that is accessible 24/7 to the DOH.
The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
