Pubdate: Thu, 18 Oct 2012
Source: Pine Bluff Commercial (AR)
Copyright: 2012 Stephens Media Group
Contact:  http://www.pbcommercial.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1562

PHARMACY GROUP OPPOSES MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROPOSAL

LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Pharmacists Association announced its 
opposition to a ballot proposal to legalize marijuana for medical use 
Monday, saying it omits pharmacists and creates a direct conflict 
with federal law.

"The APA believes that if marijuana is legalized in Arkansas, 
pharmacists should be the health care professionals who dispense the 
medication, not unlicensed, untrained individuals who work in 
'marijuana dispensaries,'" APA Executive Vice President Mark Riley 
said in a release. "Pharmacists are highly educated health care 
professionals who understand the pharmacology of medications, 
including marijuana. There are Arkansas licensed pharmacies in 74 of 
Arkansas's 75 counties providing access for patients throughout the state."

Under the proposed initiated act, up to 30 medical marijuana 
dispensaries would be allowed in the state, but cities and counties 
would have the option of banning them. The marijuana would only be 
available to people with prescriptions for certain health conditions, 
including chronic pain, glaucoma, hepatitis C and those who are terminally ill.

The proposal would allow limited cultivation of marijuana by a 
patient, or the patient's designated caregiver, if the patient lives 
more than five miles from a dispensary.

Riley noted that pharmacies and pharmacists are highly regulated by 
the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy, whose regulatory oversight 
establishes procedures for dispensing prescriptions in Arkansas, as 
well as the storage and security regulations that are required of 
pharmacies in the state.

The non-profit dispensaries that would be created under the medical 
marijuana proposal would not be regulated by the pharmacy board, and 
"with lack of such extensive oversight, patient safety and the 
security of the drug itself may be in jeopardy," Riley said.

Also, approval of the measure would place Arkansas at odds with the 
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration regulations that classify 
marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance, the APA said. It said 
if the state wishes to legalize marijuana, then the first step should 
be to pursue DEA regulatory changes to declassify marijuana as a 
Schedule I controlled substance.

The APA represents about 2,200 pharmacists in the state.

A spokesman for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the group 
sponsoring the proposal, said the announcement was disappointing but 
not surprising.

"It seems like the only people that are opposed to this are the ones 
who won't make a profit off of it," spokesman Chris Kell said. "It 
will hurt big pharmacy because people will be able to use one drug 
and not several others that pharmacies make a profit off of it."

"I've talked to conservative Christians and and liberal Democrats all 
across the state. It's got wider support than any other campaign I've 
ever worked on," according to Kell, who said he has been involved in

Arkansas campaigns ranging from local races to other ballot 
initiatives to presidential races.

The pharmacy association joins the Coalition to Preserve Arkansas 
Values, an alliance of Christian conservative groups, in formally 
announcing opposition to the medical marijuana proposal. The 
coalition previously announced a grassroots campaign as well as 
television ads to defeat the measure.

Kell said Monday his group has a "full-on" campaign of its own, with 
workers promoting the measure at county fairs and other events around 
the state. He said the group also plans TV ads and is finalizing 
details of a rally Thursday featuring television personality Montel 
Williams at a rally Thursday.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom