KAALtv.com - Medical Marijuana Bill Moves Forward
(KAAL) — Within the next week, a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Minnesota could be even closer to becoming law.

The Senate has already approved the bill, and it’s expected to hit the House floor in about a week.

Ads are already hitting the airwaves asking the governor not to veto the bill like he’s promised.

Like the governor, the Minnesota Sheriffs Association and the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association are against medical marijuana.

“They can say they’ve got a prescription but if we call the doctor, they’re not going to release if they have a prescription. It becomes a HIPAA issue,” says Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi.

First of all, Sheriff, people don’t get prescriptions for medical marijuana, as that would violate federal law and cause the DEA to revoke a doctor’s license to prescribe scheduled drugs. But doctors are free to recommend medical marijuana, as adjudicated in the case Conant v. Walters.

As for the so-called HIPAA issue, there is no HIPAA issue (though it is nice to see law enforcement concerned about patient’s right to privacy). Obviously, the sheriff has not read the text of the Minnesota bill, which states:

A qualifying patient who possesses a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner…

“Registry identification card” means a document issued by the commissioner that identifies a person as a qualifying patient or primary caregiver…

The commissioner 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 Minnesota Freedom of Information Act, and not subject to disclosure, except to authorized employees of the department as necessary to perform official duties of the department.

The commissioner shall verify to law enforcement personnel whether a registry identification card is valid solely by confirming the random registry identification number.