CHARLESTON – The state’s medical cannabis program is set to take effect July 1, and a panel of experts addressed what needs to be done to fix flaws in the legislation, and possibly move a step farther to recreational use, during a West Virginia Press Association Legislative Lookahead Friday.
Mary Stout, with the state treasurer’s office, explained the banking problem that surfaced at the end of last session.
Then-Speaker Tim Armstead blocked a proposed fix to the problem that had passed the Senate but contained technical errors from coming to the House floor on the last day of the session.
Because cannabis is still federally illegal, Stout said, banks won’t take the money generated by fees, fines and penalties. So even if they collected cash, they could never spend it. It would just sit in a vault until federal law changes.
In the meantime, she said, some credit unions have expressed interest in handling the money, so the treasurer’s office plans to propose language to amend the law to allow credit unions to do that.
Dr. James Berry, WVU vice chair of the Department of Behavioral Health and director of addiction treatment, and Delegate Mike Pushkin disagreed on using medical cannabis to address the opioid crisis.
Berry said, “It’s been a fascinating journey that we as Americans have had with this incredibly interesting plant over the course of our history.” We’re now experimenting with what to do with it in ways never done before.
But there is insufficient research into the medical effects of the 400 compounds contained in the cannabis plant – apart from THC and CBD – and leading medical groups say it’s not a medicine. In his experience, 99 percent of the people he sees with addiction issues started by using marijuana, alcohol or tobacco, or some combination of the three.
“You can see that there’s a high correlation between cannabis use and ongoing other addictions,” he said. It “completely mystifies me that someone would suggest marijuana is the answer to our opioid addiction crisis. … My position is one of caution and exploration as we go forward with this.”
Pushkin countered that marijuana really isn’t a gateway drug. Granted, some who use hard drugs started with marijuana or alcohol or tobacco, but the vast majority of the people who use or have used marijuana don’t get addicted. “I think addiction lies within the person.”
However, he said, states such as Colorado with legal cannabis have seen their opioid use rates drop. That’s not because people abusing opioids or heroin are giving those up to use cannabis.
Medical cannabis simply gives doctors another option, he said. “When we give doctors more options to treat pain, you will see less people get addicted from the outset.”
Jessie Forbes, a lawyer and member of Medical Cannabis Advisory Board, said the legislation to create the program contained some shortcomings that the board has proposed fixes for. Those didn’t get passed least session and will be back.
One flaw is that the law forbids “vertical integration,” allowing growers, processors and dispensers to hold licenses for more than one of those areas. This makes it economically unviable and has to be changed.
Forbes said that medical cannabis can desensitize people to the dangers of street marijuana. He cited the issue of a teen girl who bought some tainted marijuana, had a psychotic episode and killed a man. With a solid state program and seed-to-sale tracking, such problems can be avoided.
Pushkin said several legislators will again be introducing bills to legalize or decriminalize recreational marijuana for adults. A Colorado report from last October shows that the benefits outweigh the negatives. And he believes that the tax revenue and jobs created by legal recreational use would boost the economy.
Forbes said we need to ask ourselves if we want to be at the forefront of this, before the feds legalize it and all the states jump in. He observed that legal use also drives down the price for medical users and recreational users. This makes it almost impossible for the black market to compete and benefits patients who need it and whose insurance won’t cover it.
Twitter David Beard @dbeardtdp
