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Colorado Formulating Voter-approved Program For Medicinal Marijuana

State officials have been quietly working to get a program in place by June
1 that would allow ailing Coloradans to smoke marijuana for medical reasons.

In November, voters approved Amendment 20, which decriminalized marijuana
for medical use, but the issue has been overshadowed by the debate on three
other ballot issues: growth, guns and more money for education.

"We got together the day after the election to start working on this," said
Cindy Parmenter, spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Public Health
and Environment.

Amendment 20 created a registry of patients who use marijuana to treat
medical conditions, including cancer, glaucoma, HIV and severe pain.
Patients would need a letter from their doctor about their medical
condition in order to get a state ID card that allows them to have up to
six marijuana plants in their house and 2 ounces of pot in their possession.

But the amendment doesn't address how the patients will get the marijuana.

"That question has come up numerous times. You can't go to King Soopers and
you can't go to your doctor for a marijuana prescription," said Dr. Richard
Hoffman, state epidemiologist and chief medical officer.

"We don't have the answers administratively," he said.

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a California case that questions
whether marijuana can be provided to seriously ill patients, even though
distribution of drugs is a crime.

The state of Colorado will make decisions about its program at a Board of
Health meeting on March 21. Hoffman said considerations include regulations
and sanctions.

Coloradans who abuse the program would face criminal charges under
legislation that Rep. Mark Cloer, R-Colorado Springs, is proposing. Crimes
include making counterfeit ID cards, using another person's card, or
fraudulently claiming to have a medical condition.

Cloer said he also wants to include a provision to make certain that anyone
with an ID card who is arrested on certain charges, such as suspicion of
driving while under the influence of marijuana, can't try to wiggle out of
an indictment by claiming he or she had a legal reason to smoke pot.

"There has to be responsible use," he said.

For more information check out the Web site for the Colorado Department of
Public Health and Environment at www.cdphe.state.co.us.