What Would The
Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act Do?
Sponsored by Rep. Lou Lang, HB 1 would create a limited exception to
Illinois’ criminal laws to permit the doctor-advised medical use of cannabis by
patients with serious medical conditions.
Decriminalizing Patients’ Cannabis Use: A patient would be granted protection from arrest only if his or
her physician certifies, in writing, that the patient has a specified
debilitating medical condition and that the patient would receive therapeutic
benefit from medical cannabis. The patient would send a copy of the written
certification to the Illinois Department of Public Health (DPH), and DPH would
issue an ID card after verifying the information. Patients would only be able
to obtain a recommendation from a physician who is treating them for the
qualifying condition and with whom the patient has a bona fide
physician-patient relationship.
Restrictions on Who May Be a Patient: Minors could not qualify as patients. Patients also could not be
active police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, probation officers,
or bus drivers. They could not have a commercial driver’s license or a felony
drug conviction.
Qualifying Medical Conditions: Unlike most previous versions of the bill, there is no general
category for “pain.” In addition, psychiatric conditions would not qualify. The
specific conditions included in HB 1 are: cancer; glaucoma; HIV/AIDS; hepatitis
C; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Crohn's disease; agitation of
Alzheimer’s disease; cachexia/wasting syndrome; muscular dystrophy; severe
fibromyalgia; spinal cord disease; Tarlov cysts; hydromyelia; syringomyelia;
spinal cord injury; traumatic brain injury and post-concussion syndrome;
multiple sclerosis; Arnold Chiari malformation; Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA);
Parkinson’s disease; Tourette’s syndrome; Myoclonus; Dystonia; Reflex
Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD); Causalgia; CRPS; Neurofibromatosis; Chronic
Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy; Sjogren’s syndrome; Lupus;
Interstitial Cystitis; Myasthenia Gravis; Hydrocephalus; nail patella syndrome;
residual limb pain; or the treatment of these conditions.
Tightly Regulated Cultivation Centers: All cannabis dispensed to patients would be grown by one of up
to 22 strictly regulated cultivation centers. Prospective license holders would
have to submit detailed plans to the Department of Agriculture, which would
select one facility in each of the 22 State Police districts. All cultivation
centers would have 24-hour surveillance that law enforcement could access. They
would also be required to have cannabis-tracking systems and perform weekly
inventories. All centers would be required to abide by department rules,
including for labeling, safety, security, and record keeping. A failure to do
so could result in the revocation or suspension of a registration. Cultivation
centers’ security plans would have to be approved by State Police. Centers
would also have to comply with local zoning laws and must be located at least
2,500 feet from daycare centers, schools, and areas zoned for residential use.
Strictly Regulated Dispensing: Unlike most previous iterations of medical
cannabis legislation in Illinois, HB 1 would not permit patients or caregivers
to cultivate cannabis. Instead, patients could only purchase medical cannabis
from state-regulated dispensing organizations, which would purchase cannabis
from cultivation centers. There would be no more than 60 dispensaries
in the state, and
dispensaries would have to abide by Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation rules as well as any local zoning. They could not be located within
1,000 feet of a school or daycare location, nor could they be sited in
residential neighborhoods. Any dispensing organization that fails to comply
with the Act could have its registration suspended or revoked by the
department.
Medical Cannabis Possession Limits: A patient must designate only one dispensing organization where
he or she would be able to receive medical cannabis. Dispensaries could
distribute no more than 2.5 ounces to any patient during any 14-day period,
unless the patient’s physician certifies the patient needs a specific higher
quantity and the Department of Public Health grants the patient a waiver.
Caregivers, who may serve only one patient, would be permitted to pick up
medicine for the patients who designate them.
Registry ID Cards:
In order to ensure patients are protected from arrest and give law enforcement
officers an easy way to verify a person’s status, anyone permitted to possess
cannabis – patients, caregivers, cultivation center agents, and dispensing
organization agents – would be issued ID cards by the Department of Public
Health, Department of Agriculture, or Department of Financial and Professional
Regulation. These cards would include an issue and expiration date, as well as
a random number, which could be used to help confirm the card’s validity.
Cultivation center and dispensing organization employees’ ID cards would
include a photograph of the employee, and the Department of Public Health may
also require patient and caregiver cards to contain a photograph.
Restrictions on Driving:
Each registered patient would be deemed to have consented to a field sobriety
test, which they could be subjected to based on an independent, factual basis
related to cannabis. Their drivers’ records would include a notation that they
are a qualifying patient. Cannabis could not be transported in a vehicle unless
it is in a secure, sealed, tamper-evident container that is reasonably
inaccessible. Patients who drive while they are impaired by cannabis will face
the same penalties as patients who drive while impaired by prescription or
over-the-counter drugs.
Impact on Employers:
The bill states specifically that it does not “prohibit an employer from
enforcing a policy concerning drug testing, zero-tolerance, or a drug free
workplace provided such policy is applied in a nondiscriminatory manner.”
Elsewhere, the bill also makes clear that employers aren’t liable for
disciplinary action against employees who use or possess marijuana in the
workplace or based on an employer’s good-faith belief that an employee was
impaired. Finally, the bill states that it does not interfere with federal
restrictions and regulations on employment.
Restrictions: While the Act
would protect qualifying patients from arrest and prosecution, it includes
strict limitations on where cannabis can be used. For example, patients could
not use cannabis at a dispensing organization, in any public place, or in the
view of minors. They also could not undertake any task under the influence of
cannabis when doing so would constitute negligence or professional malpractice.
Landlords could prohibit smoking on the premises of leased property.
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