By Becky Gillette – Medical marijuana has been legalized now in Arkansas. But there is already a shortage of physicians in the area with no family practice doctors currently accepting new patients. Does that mean it could be difficult to find a physician willing to write a recommendation that their patient has a condition that would benefit from medical marijuana? Even doctors who favor medical marijuana could have concerns about how it might impact their licenses.
Kevin O’Dwyer, attorney for the Arkansas State Medical Board that licenses doctors, said he doesn’t have any advice for physicians on the issue. “The act doesn’t call for the medical board to formulate any rules and regulations on it,” O’Dwyer said. “Right now what physicians would do would just be a diagnosis. That would be the only thing the doctor would have to come up with.”
The diagnosis would have to fit within the health conditions allowed in the act, but some categories are very broad, such as having arthritis or pain.
David Wroten, executive vice president of the Arkansas Medical Society (AMS), said since this is a legal product for medicinal purposes, his take is that no physician would be subject to licensure risk by following the law. “Now if they don’t follow the law, i.e., issue certifications for patients who do not meet the criteria, absolutely they will face licensure risk, as they should,” Wroten said.
He said at the appropriate time, the AMS would provide whatever advice they can to help physicians make decisions. “However, we are several months premature at this time. Rules and regulations have to be adopted and implemented by at least three state agencies. Permits for growers and dispensaries have to be awarded and issued. Only then can the growers start growing. So it will be quite a while before any product is out.”
The Arkansas Health Department will be issuing rules for patients to obtain their ID cards. Wroten said his guess is that once that happens, physicians can start writing certifications for those patients doctors believe should be allowed to have an ID card. “But that is still several months away,” he said.
Dr. John House, local physician and chief of staff at Eureka Springs Hospital, said based solely on his interpretation of the amendment, no doctor should have anything to fear by certifying someone for medical marijuana.
“The amendment requires that a doctor certify that a patient has one of the approved conditions and to make the statement that he or she believes the patient would benefit from medical marijuana,” House said. “No prescription will be required from a doctor, just the letter of certification which is then sent to the state. In turn, the state issues a medical marijuana card. Things could change based on how the department of health phrases the final rules and regulations, but my informal survey shows that most doctors in Eureka will be willing to write such a letter of recommendation.”
There is also the issue of access to physicians. There is a shortage of primary care physicians in Carroll County, with no doctors in Eureka Springs taking new patients. However, in other states, like Michigan, traveling doctors visit with the express purpose of seeing patients seeking a medical marijuana card.
David Couch, the Little Rock attorney who authored the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, said at a meeting in Eureka Springs last week that access to physicians will be no problem based on the number of emails he received from interested physicians following passage of the amendment in November.
Arkansas Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) Director Bud Roberts said as long as the Arkansas State Medical Board has no objections, he doesn’t think physicians would have anything to worry about in respect to their medical licenses.
“However, the Arkansas Department of Health will regulate physicians and patients,” Roberts said. “As for any civil or criminal liability, physicians are best advised to consult with their respective attorneys.”
In Colorado, where recreational and medical marijuana are legal, some surrounding states have reported a steep increase in marijuana possession arrests from people leaving Colorado. Arkansas is surrounded by states that don’t have medicinal marijuana.
“The risk that medical marijuana will find its way into the wrong hands is always going to be present,” Roberts said. “There will be new problems faced by law enforcement that we haven’t had in this state at this time. Currently, we are in the rule-forming stage to deal with some of that. We are looking at what other states have done. In Oregon, Washington and Alaska, ABC has a similar role.”
When will medical marijuana actually be available in Arkansas? Roberts said they anticipate in about a year.
Do people really have to give up their firearms if they get a medical marijuana card?
“That is what I understand,” Roberts said. “That is not a matter of Arkansas law. I understand ownership of any kind of firearm would be prohibited by federal law, if one has a medical marijuana card. Even though marijuana will be legal for medical use in Arkansas, even those who use if for medical purposes are technically violating the federal law. The Drug Enforcement Administration regulates it as a Class 1 substance and that makes it illegal. The federal laws have gun control rules in them, is my understanding.”
There are also issues regarding how to handle funds from medicinal marijuana operations. It has been a cash business in most cases because of federal money laundering laws.
“Money received probably will have to take the form of cash,” Roberts said. “Commercial paper and checks directly link receipts of funds from sales and expenditures to a substance that on a federal level appears to be illegal.”
Regarding how much it will cost, Roberts said ABC doesn’t control the pricing.
“I feel confident the price will be left to the marketplace,” he said. “I believe it will be about the same price as Colorado and other states with medical marijuana.”
According to Coloradopotguide.com, the average retail price for a gram of marijuana flower over the past 12 months was $10 per gram. High grade cannabis can cost as much as $60 per gram. There are about 28 grams per ounce, which would make an ounce of marijuana about $280. Patients in Arkansas will be allowed to purchase 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.