HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1502        FILED ON: 1/15/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2065

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Frank I. Smizik

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act to protect patients approved by physicians and certified by the Department of Public Health to access medical marijuana.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1502        FILED ON: 1/15/2015

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2065

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the One Hundred and Eighty-Ninth General Court
(2015-2016)

_______________

An Act to protect patients approved by physicians and certified by the Department of Public Health to access medical marijuana.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1

Section 4 of Chapter 369 of the Session Laws of the 2012 Acts is hereby amended by adding the following section:

(A)An employee of a hospice provider, nursing, or medical facility or a visiting nurse, personal care attendant, or home health aide providing care to a qualifying patient, or a qualifying patient's immediate family member who is at least 21 years of age may serve as a personal caregiver without obtaining a Registration card or being subject to any limit on number of qualifying patients served except that such caregivers may be required to obtain a Registration card to obtain marijuana from a medical marijuana treatment center or to cultivate marijuana for a patient but such personal caregivers may assist in cultivation for a patient with a cultivation registration.

SECTION 2

Section 2, subsection (M) of Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by striking out the subsection and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

“Sixty-day supply” means that amount of usable marijuana or an equivalent amount of usable marijuana in any mixture or preparation thereof, including infused product(s), or a combination thereof that a qualifying patient would reasonably be expected to need over a period of 60 days for their personal medical  use or a greater amount as recommended by a licensed physician, and any other marijuana reasonably needed for, ancillary to, or expected in the cultivation, processing and/or production of such usable marijuana, mixtures or preparations.

SECTION 3

Section 2 of Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:

"Visiting qualifying patient" means a qualified patient from another State or jurisdiction who possesses a valid written certification or a registration card or its equivalent to permit the medical use of marijuana by the qualifying patient or a personal caregiver and who possess government issued photographic identification

SECTION 4

Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 4 and inserting in place thereof the following section:

Section 4. Protection From State Prosecution and Penalties for Qualifying Patients and Personal Caregivers

As the use of medical marijuana must be considered the equivalent of the use of any other medication, any person meeting the requirements under this law shall not be penalized under Massachusetts law in any manner for such actions, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to: 

(a) Denial of license or other certification, or civil or other penalty or disciplinary action by a professional licensing board or any agency or division of the Commonwealth

(b) Disqualification for organ transplant or other medical procedure or treatment or denial of medical marijuana treatment in a hospital or other medical facility if his or her physician has given written approval for such treatment.

(c) Refusal to rent housing or grant a lease by a landlord solely for being a registered patient or personal caregiver.

(d) Refusal of enrollment or discrimination in any way or form by a school or university solely for being a registered patient or personal caregiver.

(e) Discrimination against a person in hiring, termination or imposing any term or condition of employment solely for being a registered patient or personal caregiver.

(f) Any action or proceeding by a child welfare agency or in a juvenile or family court against a custodial or non-custodial parent, grandparent, pregnant woman, legal guardian, or other person charged with the well-being of a child, taken solely or primarily in consideration of a person's patient or registered caregiver status or the presence of cannabinoid components or metabolites in a person's bodily fluids.

A qualifying patient or a personal caregiver shall not be arrested, prosecuted provided he or she:

(a) Possesses no more marijuana than is necessary for the patient's personal, medical use, not exceeding the amount necessary for a sixty-day supply; and

(b) Presents his or her registration card to any law enforcement official who questions the patient or caregiver regarding use of marijuana.

SECTION 5

Section 9 of Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by adding the following subsection (E)

A medical marijuana treatment center shall at its reasonable costs offer seeds, seedlings or rooted cuttings as reasonable to its production methods to any certifying patient or personal caregiver with a valid cultivation registration.

SECTION 6

Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 11 and inserting in place thereof:

Section 11. Hardship Cultivation Registrations

With the goal of providing affordable access to marijuana to all qualifying patients, the department shall issue a cultivation registration to a qualifying patient whose access to a medical treatment center is limited by verified financial hardship, a physical incapacity to access reasonable transportation, or the lack of a treatment center within a reasonable distance of the patient's residence. The Department may deny a registration based on the provision of false information by the applicant. Cultivation registration shall allow the patient or the patient's personal caregiver to cultivate a limited number of plants, sufficient to maintain a 60-day supply of usable marijuana, and shall require cultivation and storage only in an enclosed, locked facility.

(a) Regardless of and in addition to any definition or standard of verified financial hardship promulgated by the department, (1) any qualifying patient who shows that a strain or preparation of marijuana they have benefited from or would likely benefit from using is not readily available from the nearest two medical marijuana treatment centers or in their county of residence; or (2) who shows that costs to cultivate their requirements for marijuana, excluding hardware, would be 20 per cent less than the equivalent purchased from a medical marijuana treatment center at prices offered to that patient; or (3) who shows that their typical round-trip travel time to the nearest medical marijuana treatment center exceeds one hour; (4) who shows that the nearest medical marijuana treatment center can not or will not provide enough medical marijuana to meet the patient's needs shall be issued a hardship cultivation registration

(b) A qualifying patient may name no more than two registered personal caregivers.

(c) A personal caregiver may cultivate for no more than ten qualifying patients.

(d) Two or more qualifying patients who have cultivation registrations and who are members of the same household may share one enclosed, locked facility for cultivation.

(e) A personal caregiver may not receive payment or other compensation for services rendered as a personal caregiver other than reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in the provision of services as a caregiver including reasonable compensation for the personal caregiver's time.

(f) The department may choose to inspect any cultivation location registered under this section with notice and at a time mutually agreed-upon with the registration card holder.

(g) Patients or caregivers with valid cultivation registrations may purchase seeds, seedlings or rooted or un-rooted cuttings from a medical marijuana treatment center and may share or barter seeds, seedlings or rooted or un-rooted cuttings with those patients or caregivers.

SECTION 7

Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 18. Authorized Conduct by a Visiting Qualifying Patient:

A visiting qualifying patient shall be given the same rights and benefits under this law as a resident holder of a registration card.

SECTION 8

Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 12 the following section: 

Section 12(A) Medical Marijuana Cards for Qualifying Minor Patients

A qualifying patient who is a minor under 18 years of age and has been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition by two (2) licensed physicians, at least one (1) of whom is a board-certified pediatrician or a board-certified pediatric subspecialist may receive a written certification from either physician, provided that at least one of those physicians meets any registration, educational, or other requirements or regulations made by the Department or other agency, licensing board or other authority. 

SECTION 9

The first paragraph of Section 13 of Chapter 369 of the Session Laws is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence, and inserting after the last sentence the following sentence:

The Commonwealth or its divisions may not impose or collect any sales, excise or other tax on medical marijuana produced or sold under this law.