Adding debilitating medical conditions. The commissioner shall establish, chair and staff an advisory board consisting of at least 8 health care practitioners representing various fields of practice, including but not limited to neurology, gastroenterology, pain management, medical oncology, psychiatry, infectious disease, hospice medicine, family medicine and gynecology. The practitioners must be national board-certified in their areas of specialty and knowledgeable about the medical use of marijuana. The advisory board must also include at least 2 members of the public, at least one of whom is a registered qualifying patient. The members must be chosen for appointment by the commissioner from a list proposed by the Maine Medical Association and the Maine Osteopathic Association or their successor organizations and from a list of individuals who have volunteered to serve on the advisory board. The advisory board shall:
A. Review and recommend to the commissioner for approval additional debilitating medical conditions that would benefit from the medical use of marijuana;
B. Accept and review petitions to add medical conditions, medical treatments or diseases to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for the medical use of marijuana;
C. Convene at least once per year to conduct public hearings and to evaluate petitions, which must be maintained in the same manner as confidential personal health information under section 2425, subsection 8, to add medical conditions, medical treatments or diseases to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for the medical use of marijuana;
D. Issue recommendations concerning rules for the issuance of registry identification cards; and
E. Recommend quantities of marijuana that are necessary to constitute an adequate supply for qualifying patients and primary caregivers.
