SB109 Increases Costs to Patients

[Jim Finnel]

*Colo. Medical Marijuana Law Enforcement Bill Introduced*

{Denver} -- The first of the Law Enforcement bills designed to restrict patients' access to medical marijuana in Colorado was officially introduced into the state Senate today by Sen. Chris Romer
(D-Denver) and Senator Nancy Spence (R-Centennial). The bill is Senate Bill
109 and has been introduced into the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. A hearing has not been scheduled.

*Required Exams for Patients*

Senate Bill 109 redefines the term "bona-fide physician-patient relationship" from Article XVIII, Section 14 of the Colorado Constitution
(Colorado's Medical Marijuana Law).

The new definition requires the patient to receive a full physical exam by a physician in order to obtain a Medical Marijuana Registry Card. In addition, "follow-up care and treatment" by that same physician would be required every year.

This will dramatically increase the cost of a Medical Marijuana Registry card to the medical marijuana patient. A full physical exam costs anywhere from $250 to $500. Follow-up office visits cost from $200 to $500.

*Cost of Medical Marijuana Registry Card*

*Current Yearly Cost to Patients* Examination of previous medical history by a physician: $100 Registration fee for the State: $90 Total: $190

*New SB109 Cost to Patients* Full physical exam: $250 to $500 One followup visit: $200 to $500 Registration fee for the State: $90 New total: $540 to $1090

SB-109 fails to specify how many times per year a patient must see his or her physician for "follow-up care and treatment", but it could be required more than once a year, driving the cost up even further.

"This will be a crushing blow to patients," says Timothy Tipton of Rocky Mountain Caregivers Cooperative. "Patients were already having a difficult time coming up with an $200 a year for their Registry card. Thousands of patients will be denied access to medical marijuana because they cannot afford these new fees."

*Additional Exam Requirements*

SB-109 fails to recognize that many patients' primary care physicians will not sign a recommendation for medical marijuana because of fear of reprisal. CTI has been told by several patients that physicians working for Kaiser Permanente HMO are not allowed to recommend medical marijuana. Other physicians have also stated they will not sign medical marijuana recommendations out of fears of reprisal from the State of Colorado or the DEA. This means that thousands of patients across Colorado will have to obtain physical exams from physicians other than their primary care physician.

SB-109 would also mean that physical exams and medical histories that are performed by these patients' primary care physicians will not be enough evidence of a patient's current medical condition to satisfy the State of Colorado. Currently, qualified physicians can review a patient's medical history and recommend marijuana based on previous assessments by the patient's primary care physician and other experts. Physicians who specialize in medical marijuana shouldn't be required to perform a new physical exam each year and perform followup care on patients, many of whom may already have had these exams performed by their primary care physician.

*Record-Keeping Requirements*

SB109 also requires physicians to maintain separate records for all medical marijuana patients and requires them to surrender these records to the State Board of Medical Examiners upon request. This additional burden on physicians will drive the cost to patients up even further.

*Medical Marijuana Review Board* ("Pain Panel")

SB109 also sets up a "Medical Marijuana Review Board" of 7 people appointed by the Governor who will review Medical Marijuana Registry applications for all patients under 21 years of age. Only "veterans of military service", but not current members of the military, would be exempt.

The Cannabis Therapy Institute opposes the creation of a medical review board that would be allowed to override the recommendation of a physician that a patient might benefit from the medical use of cannabis. The physician/patient relationship is sacrosanct, and the state has no right or authority to deny a patient's Constitutional right to use cannabis as medicine if their physician recommends it, regardless of the patient's age. The state should not come between a patient and his physician with the equivalent of a "Pain Panel" that gets to determine whether or not a qualified patient is in "true" pain.

This "Pain Panel" is an unnecessary and discriminatory burden on younger patients, who would be forced to suffer through a humiliating and embarrassing hearing concerning their medical condition. Why not have a Vicodin Review Board for 18-20 year olds? We need to trust physicians in their recommendations.

Attorney Rob Corry, in a previous analysis of this idea, stated: "The specter of these vulnerable young patients facing a Governor-appointed board of overseers for 'permission' to access his or her constitutionally-protected, physician-recommended medicine does not belong in a free country. This Board's very existence is unconstitutional."

*How to Contact the Senate Health and Human Services Committee*

Supporters of patient rights need to contact the Senate HHS Committee and ask them to vote NO on SB109.

1) Be respectful and calm.

2) In your own words, state your reasons that you would like them to vote against SB109. Here are some talking points:

SB109 is bad for patients because it:
- Raises the costs to patients by requiring extra exams and record-keeping
- Raises the costs to patients by not allowing their previous medical history to be used to determine whether they would benefit from medical marijuana
- Allows a Medical Review Board to override the decision of a qualified physician that someone under 21 might benefit from the use of medical marijuana.
- Is discriminatory, because no other medicine in the state is regulated so harshly

3) The bill is a solution in search of a problem. The Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners already has a system set up to deal with complaints about fraudulent physicians. These additional burdens are unnecessary and discriminatory.

4) Ask the Senator if they would be willing to sponsor a Medical Marijuana Patient Bill of Rights, that takes into consideration the concerns of patients. The current bills are all geared towards law enforcement and restricting the Constitutional rights of patients to use medical cannabis. We need a champion in the Senate that will help protect patients, not try to restrict their rights to medicine.

Make sure you forward us any correspondence with legislators: info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com

*Senate Health and Human Services Committee*

7 Members:

Senator Betty Boyd (D), Chairwoman District 21: (Jefferson County) Phone: (303) 866-4857 E-mail: betty.boyd.senate@state.co.us

Senator Linda Newell (D), Vice-Chairman Distirct 26 (Arapahoe and Jefferson counties) Phone:: 303-866-4846 E-mail: linda.newell.senate@gmail.com

Senator Morgan Carroll (D) District 29 (Arapahoe County) Profession: Attorney/Small Business Owner Phone: : 303-866-4879 E-mail: morgan.carroll.senate@state.co.us

Senator Kevin Lundberg (R) District 15 (Larimer County) Phone: 303-866-4853 E-mail: kevin@kevinlundberg.com

Senator Shawn Mitchell (D) District 23 (Adams, Broomfield and Weld counties) Profession: Attorney Phone: 303-866-4876 E-mail: shawnmitch@aol.com

Senator Paula E. Sandoval (D) District 34 (Denver County) Profession: Businesswoman Phone:: 303-866-4862 E-mail: nwden34@yahoo.com

Senator David C. Schultheis (R) District 9 (El Paso) Profession: Real Estate Investor (Retired) Phone: 303-866-4835 E-mail: senatorschultheis@gmail.com

--- Provided as a Public Service by the: Cannabis Therapy Institute P. O. Box 19084, Boulder, CO 80308 Phone: 877-420-4205 Email: info@cannabistherapyinstitute.com

 

[Jim Finnel]

from what i've read they seem to be a very good & active group

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

Just sent the following to all of them, including Romer sen.romer@gmail.com:

Senators,

As a registered medical marijuana patient and a disabled US ARMY veteran, I just wanted you to know the impact your bill, as written, will have on veterans that rely on the VA for medical care. Even now, as the law is written, VA doctors cannot sign a recommendation for 2 reasons, 1. The doctors there are not licensed by the State, so they can't sign and 2. They are "Federal" employees, even if they wanted to sign, they can't for fear of career-ending repercussions.

Your proposed bill, as it is written, "requires doctors to have a closer relationship with their pot-seeking patients". Well sir, I rely on the VA for my medical care and there must be a provision that allows me to take my VA records to a Colorado licensed physician to get a recommendation without this requirement, even if I, like the under 21-yr old veterans, must go before a board. As written, it would require me to pay out-of-pocket even more, because I would have to have a "close relationship" with the doctor, meaning I would have to see him more than once and have to pay for this. This would truly have a major impact on not only my life, but the lives of countless veterans in our great State, veterans that have served their country with honor, veterans that have fought for the people's right to vote and make changes - like Amendment 20. Without these many veterans, you might not even have the rights guaranteed to you by both our State Constitution as well as the US Constitution.

Another thing that would help the state - permanent cards for those that have permanent disabilities (I have 3 crushed vertebrae). That way all the state would have to do is collect our $90 every year, or...better yet collect a discounted portion of that $90 and not process another card. This would save the state the $$ from having to reprocess certain folks every year, as well as reduce paperwork and the need for more employees. Once they catch up, the need for the extra personnel would be drastically reduced! As things stand now, the State is in violation of Amendment 20, since it requires the State to process and produce the cards in 35 days. Well sir, my card has yet to arrive and it's been over 90 days. It will only be a short time before someone tries to litigate this in the courts! Instead of cluttering the process with unnecessary governmental bureaucracy and even more paperwork, let's do this one right the fist time! I urge you to consider this as you move forward in this process.

A suggestion for the surplus money ---education....TABOR has messed this state up so bad, our children are suffering. I have no doubt that any med user would have a problem with that surplus money going to the education of our children. In fact, I personally think that maybe a 1% tax that goes to the State's Education Fund on top of the other taxes already being paid might be something that could get passed without much opposition from the Medical Marijuana Community.

Just a veteran hoping you have an open mind.....

Thank you very much for taking your time and reading this.


***Also fired it to all the rest of the State's representatives, both houses

Thanks for writing this letter Dave, you're a good example of what I need to be doing.

 

[Jim Finnel]

Send me a PM...I will give you all of their email addresses! .......

i don't know of any reason you can't post the adresses. either in this thread or perhaps a post in petitions.

 

[Jim Finnel]

politicians are always saying they want to hear from their constituents. we're here to help.

 

[Jim Finnel]

i once went to d.c. to lobby for hep c patients & research funding. i only got to talk to interns. i gotta say that they all listened to everything i had to say, took notes and seemed genuinely interested.

 

[FryingPanFlyer]

My girl's brother is actually really involved with the Dem Party...I got to meet Obama when he was here in Denver. He came across exactly the same way. Look, I have come to realize I can't bitch, if I don't try and change what I don't like...I just try to pick the "right" fights.

Right on bro! Don't give it up, you gotta fight the good fight!

 

[Jim Finnel]

Make us proud bro!

no pressure

hmmmm.... i wonder where one could go online to find all the needed informantion