Summary of Tennessee MedMJ bills (SB 209 & HB 368)

Stasher JohnH sent in this helpful summary of the new Tennessee medical marijuana bills:

Present law prohibits the possession, use, cultivation, transfer, or transportation of marijuana. The penalty depends on the amount of marijuana and the specific activity involved. This bill authorizes the medical use of marijuana for persons with a terminal illness or injury.

Like I said yesterday, it seems odd for the preamble to mention marijuana’s medical efficacy for glaucoma, but then see the bill only cover “terminal” illness or injury.  And if it is only for the “terminal”, why do you make them renew their card annually?  Just in case they get better?  And if you got better, you’re weren’t terminal, so you obtained a card fraudulently.  So Tennesseeans, if you get a medical marijuana card, please be sure to die as soon as possible.  You don’t want to break the law, after all.

When you start with the assumption that it’s reasonable to declare a plant illegal, you’re bound to get all sorts of laws that make no logical sense.

Under this bill, no physician in this state may be punished, or denied any right or privilege, for having recommended marijuana to a terminal patient for medical purposes, and the criminal provisions relating to the possession and cultivation of marijuana would not apply to a terminal patient, or to the patient’s primary caregiver, who possesses or cultivates marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendations or approval of a physician. A primary caregiver is someone who consistently assumes responsibility for the housing, health, or safety of the terminal patient.This bill requires the department of health to establish and maintain a voluntary program for the issuance of identification cards to qualified terminal patients who satisfy the requirements of this bill and voluntarily apply to the identification card program. This bill also requires the department to establish and maintain a 24-hour, toll-free telephone number that will enable state and local law enforcement officers to have immediate access to information necessary to verify the validity of an identification card issued by the department, until a cost-effective Internet Web-based system can be developed for this purpose.

County health departments, or the county’s designee, would handle the application process for persons seeking to join the identification card program, in accordance with procedures developed by the department. There would be two types of identification cards, one that identifies a person authorized to engage in the medical use of marijuana and one that identifies the person’s designated primary caregiver, if any.

No person or designated primary caregiver in possession of a valid identification card would be subject to arrest for possession, transportation, delivery, or cultivation of medical marijuana in an amount established pursuant to this bill, unless there is reasonable cause to believe that the information contained in the card is false or falsified, the card has been obtained by means of fraud, or the person is otherwise in violation of the provisions of this bill.

It would not be necessary for a person to obtain an identification card in order to claim the protections of this bill.

A person who seeks an identification card would pay a fee determined by the department. The person must have written documentation by the attending physician in the person’s medical records stating that the person has been diagnosed as a terminal patient and that the medical use of marijuana is appropriate. The patient must also include the name and duties of the primary caregiver.

If the person applying for an identification card lacks the capacity to make medical decisions, the application may be made by the person’s legal representative. The legal representative may also designate in the application an individual, including the legal representative, to serve as a primary caregiver for the person, provided that the individual meets the definition of a primary caregiver.

The health department would verify the information in an application and contact the attending physician to confirm that the medical records submitted by the patient are a true and correct copy of those contained in the physician’s office records. The department would issue an identification card to a qualified patient and caregiver.

Any person whose application is denied may appeal that decision to the department. An identification card would be valid for a period of one year. Upon annual renewal of an identification card, the county health department or its designee must verify all new information and may verify any other information that has not changed.

The department would establish application and renewal fees for persons seeking to obtain or renew identification cards that are sufficient to cover the expenses incurred by the department, including the startup cost, the cost of reduced fees for medical assistance beneficiaries (discussed below), the cost of identifying and developing a cost-effective Internet Web-based system, and the cost of maintaining the 24-hour toll-free telephone number. Each county health department or the county’s designee may charge an additional fee for all costs incurred by the county or the county’s designee for administering the program pursuant to this bill.

Upon satisfactory proof of participation and eligibility in the medical assistance program, a medical assistance beneficiary will receive a 50-percent reduction in the fees established pursuant to this bill.

Subject to the requirements of this bill, the individuals specified below would not be subject, on that sole basis, to criminal liability under the present law drug provisions:

(1) A qualified patient or a person with an identification card who transports or processes marijuana for his or her own personal medical use;
(2) A designated primary caregiver who transports, processes, administers, delivers, or gives away marijuana for medical purposes, in amounts not exceeding those established by this bill, only to the qualified patient of the primary caregiver, or to the person with an identification card who has designated the individual as a primary caregiver; and
(3) Any individual who provides assistance to a qualified patient or a person with an identification card, or such individual’s designated primary caregiver, in administering medical marijuana to the qualified patient or person or acquiring the skills necessary to cultivate or administer marijuana for medical purposes to the qualified patient or person.

A qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana per qualified patient. In addition, a qualified patient or primary caregiver may also maintain no more than six mature or 12 immature marijuana plants per qualified patient.

If a qualified patient or primary caregiver has a doctor’s recommendation that this quantity does not meet the qualified patient’s medical needs, the qualified patient or primary caregiver may possess an amount of marijuana consistent with the patient’s needs.

The attorney general and reporter may recommend modifications to the possession or cultivation limits set forth in this bill. These recommendations, if any, must be made to the general assembly no later than December 1, 2009, and may be made only after public comment and consultation with interested organizations. Any recommended modification must be consistent with the intent of this bill and based on currently available scientific research.

Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients and persons with identification cards, who associate within the state of Tennessee in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, would not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions.

This bill does not require any accommodation of any medical use of marijuana on the property or premises of any place of employment or during the hours of employment or on the property or premises of any jail, correctional facility, or other type of penal institution in which prisoners reside or persons under arrest are detained. Also, this bill does not require a governmental, private, or any other health insurance provider or health care service plan to be liable for any claim for reimbursement for the medical use of marijuana.

No professional licensing board may impose a civil penalty or take other disciplinary action against a licensee based solely on the fact that the licensee has performed acts that are necessary or appropriate to carry out the licensee’s role as a designated primary caregiver to a person who is a qualified patient or who possesses a lawful identification card issued pursuant to this bill.

The following would be subject to criminal penalties:

(1) A person who fraudulently represents a medical condition or fraudulently provides any material misinformation to a physician, county health department or the county’s designee, or state or local law enforcement agency or officer, for the purpose of falsely obtaining an identification card;
(2) A person who steals or fraudulently uses any person’s identification card in order to acquire, possess, cultivate, transport, use, produce, or distribute marijuana;
(3) A person who counterfeits, tampers with, or fraudulently produces an identification card; and
(4) A person who breaches the confidentiality requirements of this bill to information provided to, or contained in the records of, the department or of a county health department or the county’s designee pertaining to an identification card program.

A first offense would be a Class B misdemeanor, and a second offense would be a Class A misdemeanor. In addition to these penalties any person described above may be precluded from attempting to obtain, or obtaining or using, an identification card for a period of up to six months at the discretion of the court.