Proposed changes to the Medical Cannabis Program

Sparehead

Well-Known Member
Hello all Im not sure if you have heard but the department of health is proposing massive changes to the program. While it does seem that they are doing some good things, the majority of the changes seem to hinder the program. Here is a copy of New Mexicann's news letter and below that is a link to the new regs. Im not sure about the changes to PPL plant count numbers as I can't find anything about it in the new regs.

For months, I have attempted to convince the Dept. of Health to take advantage of our front line experience cultivating and distributing Medicine to Patients. I had hoped that we could sit down and review their thinking on changes to the Regulations - but to no avail. These regulations were created with no input from knowledgeable Producers who understand their impact on patients. In an attempt to address the Supply Shortage as per the Dept.'s own survey, they are about to dramatically make the situation much worse. Perhaps this could have been avoided if those of us with knowledge had been given a seat at the table. We are supposed to be partners in implementing the Compassionate Use Act. Now it is too late. The Proposed Regulations have been published. The Department has caused what could have been a cooperative partnership for the benefit all to become an adversarial relationship. They have drawn hard battle lines and we must now engage.
Are the Proposed Regulations the result of a deliberate conspiracy to destroy the program, stupidity or incompetence? Is this all coming from the Governor's Office or from Department Staff? We will probably never know. What we do know is that we are in for a massive fight - one that we must win or we will all loose our Medicine.
Many of the Proposed Regulations are good - or at least appear to be. But in almost all instances, each positive change has an IED planted in it that will destroy Patient Access to Medicine (from Producers, Personal Production Licenses and the Street). As Patients and as Producers we must suit up for battle and mobilize on all fronts. The Administration, in the guise of helping, is about to destroy the Medical Cannabis Program in our state.
A great media piece appeared in the Sierra County Sentinel, May 16 issue, thanks to Jayme at MJ Expresso. I will try to get a download and pass it on to you in a separate email.

Let's start with a few key issues:

1. Patients will now have to pay $50 annually for their Registry Card - unless you are poor and on Medicaid and then the cost drops to $25.

2. Patients wishing to grow their own will have to pay $30 annually unless on Medicaid - forget poverty level and Vets with the VA.

3. Patients applying for Personal Production Licenses will have to get fingerprinted and have a National Background check done. Better not tell the FBI that you are a Cannabis Patient or you will be denied - and it is costly and can take up to 3 months.

4. Personal Production plant count is cut in half to 2 mature plants plus 6 seedlings.

5. Patients acquiring Medicine from anyone other than Licensed Non Profit Producers or from their own Gardens are now subject to having their MCP Cannabis Card revoked by the Department.

6. Producers can still make deliveries to Patients, but we can no longer share as we have done. That means that each Producer can only deliver its own packages - and that is simply not cost effective.

7. Courier Services can now be licensed. Great BUT they cannot keep the package in their possession for more than 24 hours. The Courier Services must spend one day picking up packages from Santa Fe and Albuquerque from Producers to take to its hub for sorting. It then takes 3 days and 2 nights to make a quadrant loop to deliver packages to many cities and town over one quadrant in our very large state. Missed delivery packages can no longer be left with the local producer and must be returned to the source Producer. Do that in 24 hours - IED booby trap. Result - no more deliveries to rural Patients.

8. Mandatory Product Testing - great, we need it. But they have ignored the standards other states are using. Instead of implementing the proper standards and protocols, the Dept. has opted to use a pharmaceutical grade protocol that NO organic food product can meet - NONE. The result will be that NO CANNABIS will pass testing and be allowed to be distributed to Patients. That will be the end of all smokeable Cannabis flowers and leaf. Patients will only be able to purchase concentrated oil.

9. In addition to batch testing for Cannabinoid quantification and Microbiological safety (which is the right thing to do), the Proposed Regulations call for batch testing for pesticides and heavy metals. Testimg for these is fine, but here is the IED booby trap embedded in the Proposed Regs. Every batch needs to be tested - not random sampling as is FDA's protocol to insure product safety and compliant. Batch testing for all these panels for every batch will cost at least $800. That means that gram prices will have to be raised by $2 to cover this completely unnecessary batch testing for heavy metals and pesticides. Medicine is already to expensive and now it will go up.

10. It will take some $250,000 to install the equipment to test for heavy metals and pesticides. With only 23 Producers no lab will be able to recover its costs unless they raise the test costs to at least $1,200 which will add another $1 to the gram price. It is unlikely that the one currently certified lab in NM will continue in business and out-of-state labs who were considering entering the market have now backed off. It is simply not a viable business model for them. With no testing available in the state, no Producer will be able to distribute medicine.

11. Manufacturers for edibles can now be licensed - great. BUT unnecessary batch testing makes it economically unfeasible. At New MexiCann, we will have to test each batch of fudge. That means our 100 bar batch will cost $800 to test and we will have to add at least $8 to each bar. That will take our Fudge Bar, that so many of our Patients depend on, for pain relief and sleep from $15 a bar to at least $23 a bar! You gotta be kidding. Most Producers will have to eliminate most edibles from their menus.

12. Producers currently pay $30,000 annually to renew their license. For that, we are allowed to have 150 plants growing at one time. Depending on grow styles,Producers keep from 75 to 100 plants in flower and the rest in veg. The Proposed Regs call for a base renewal fee of $30,000 for 150 plants, but only 50 of those will be permitted to be in flower. You thought we had a shortage before? Producers will loose 1/3 to 1/2 their yields under the new structure and that means the shortage will get much much worse and the price per gram will have to go up to make up for the lost yield in order to cover our very high overheads and compliance costs.

13. Producers can grow more plants BUT to go from the current 75 or 100 in flower up to 150 in flower, the Dept. will be charging the Producers $90,000 annually. That is an increase of $60,000 for an additional 50 to 75 flowering plants. Thanks for the plant increase DoH, but if we choose to accept your offer, bud prices will sky rocket and Patients either have to purchase less than they need or turn to the Street (which is now a violation of Patients' License).

14. The $90,000 renewal fee is Non Refundable. That means a Producer will be borrowing money to place a bet that their License will be renewed. What if it isn't? Who can do that? Many of the current Producers (possibly half) are undecided whether or not they will continue in business after Dec. 31, 2014. What will that do for the shortage. Even if DoH issues new licenses, it will take new Producers six month before and replacement Medicine gets into the hands of Patients - and the experience of all Producers is that it takes at least 18 months to dial in a new large scale grow and and achieve adequate yields.



The Producers, Patient Alliances and National Policy Organizations are coming together to fight this brutal attach on Patients, Producers and the Medical Cannabis Program itself. It is going to get loud. It is going to get visible. It is going to get nasty. It is going to get political. It is going to get litigious. Make no mistake - we are going to war. Medical Cannabis Needs You. Enlist now and become a soldier - fighting for our Medicine, fighting for Social Justice, fighting for our Brothers and Sisters, fighting for our Freedom. They have the power and the heavy weapons. We have our bodies. We have our voices. We have our will. And we will put these on the line We will not just stand on the wall to defend - we will attack. We will charge their artillery with fixed bayonets. We will not forsake our Honor or our Integrity - for ourselves, for our brothers and sisters, for our Medicine, for our Country.


Be Well - Be Blessed, Be a Blessing for Others,
Len Goodman

Executive Director, New MexiCann Natural Medicine

http://nmhealth.org/publication/view/regulation/168/
 

jordan293

Well-Known Member
do you kno when these new regulations will start? and do you think they will stop approving new p.p.l. untill then? i just sent in my application for mine last friday
 

Sparehead

Well-Known Member
No they have to keep approving the apps that they have and that come in. These aren't set in stone yet but very soon they will be unless people show their concerns about the effects of these changes on the program. There is a public hearing in Santa Fe on JUNE 16th for us to go and tell them how we feel about the changes. That is our only shot to be heard so if you can make it I urge every card holder to attend the meeting if possible.
 

Sparehead

Well-Known Member
Anyone else go to the meeting? Pretty stupid setup as they did not have a big enough venue so the public had to go inside in waves because of the fire code. Every person that I heard speak had nothing good to say about the purposed changes. I kind of began to feel sorry for the three people having to listen to the comments after a while because every person that spoke was so frustrated. I cannot see how that panel can recommend anything other than scraping the changes and starting over. Lets hope they do the right thing and the secretary of the health department follows their recommendation.
 
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