Pubdate: Tue, 06 Aug 2013
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2013 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Author: Olivier Uyttebrouck

MEDICAL MARIJUANA CHANGES PROPOSED

New Rules Would Require Doctor Notification; Prescription Drug Check

The New Mexico Medical Board will consider new rules for the medical 
marijuana program. The New Mexico Medical Board will consider new 
rules this month for certifying patients for the medical marijuana program.

A board spokeswoman said the proposed rules would ensure clinicians 
observe standard medical practices, such having as an ongoing 
relationship with a patient, complete with follow-up visits.

A critic, however, said the rules will discourage doctors from 
participating in the program.

Under the state's medical marijuana law, a physician or another 
licensed practitioner is required to sign a document certifying that 
a patient has one of 17 medical conditions - such as cancer, glaucoma 
or post-traumatic stress disorder - that qualify a patient to legally 
buy or grow marijuana.

Lynn Hart, executive director of the New Mexico Medical Board, said 
the changes were prompted in part by cases that have come up alleging 
wrongdoing by practitioners who have certified their patients.

One proposed rule would require a doctor to inform the patient's 
other health care providers before signing the patient's certificate 
for the medical pot program.

Another proposal would require clinicians considering whether to sign 
a certification to obtain a report from the New Mexico Board of 
Pharmacy showing any controlled drugs prescribed to the patient. The 
state created the monitoring program to limit the abuse of 
prescription painkillers.

The Medical Board will take up the proposed rule changes at a hearing 
scheduled for Aug. 16.

Dr. Steve Jenison, former medical director of the state's Medical 
Cannabis Advisory Board, said those rules will have a "chilling 
effect" on physicians who certify patients for the program.

"The very fact that the medical board is doing this raises questions 
in clinicians' minds," Jenison said.

Physicians typically are not required to notify other physicians 
before recommending treatments, he said.

The requirement that a physician obtain a report from the 
prescription monitoring program is unreasonable because marijuana is 
not a prescription drug like other drugs monitored by the state Board 
of Pharmacy.

In proposing the rules, the medical board also is exceeding its 
authority as defined by the state's medical marijuana law, Jenison said.

Hart said the board wants to ensure that physicians follow best 
practices, such as consulting with other physicians who provided a 
diagnosis for a medical condition.

"The physician that is signing the certificate needs to ensure that 
the diagnosis is appropriate," Hart said. Practitioners "need to be 
talking to one another," she said.

Hart also said the rule requiring physicians to obtain a report from 
the prescription monitoring program is a step practitioners should 
always take before they prescribe any controlled substance.

Under New Mexico law, marijuana is a Schedule II controlled 
substance, she said. State law also requires physicians to obtain a 
report from the prescription monitoring program anytime they consider 
prescribing a controlled substance for a patient.
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