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SPONSOR: |
Godbey |
DATE TYPED: |
2/13/03 |
HB |
461 |
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SHORT TITLE: |
Repeal Lynn Pierson Research Program |
SB |
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ANALYST: |
Dunbar |
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APPROPRIATION
Appropriation
Contained |
Estimated
Additional Impact |
Recurring or
Non-Rec |
Fund Affected |
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FY03 |
FY04 |
FY03 |
FY04 |
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|
|
NFI |
|
|
|
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(Parenthesis
( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)
Relates
to: House Bill 242
Responses
Received From
Department
of Health (DOH)
Health
Policy Commission (HPC)
Attorney General (AG)
SUMMARY
Synopsis
of Bill
House Bill 461 (HB 461) would repeal NMSA 1978,
Sections 26-2A-4 through 26-2A-7, the Lynn Pierson Therapeutic Research
Program.
Significant
Issues
In 1978, the New Mexico Legislature enacted the Controlled
Substances Therapeutic Research Act that mandated the establishment of clinical
research programs (“the Lynn Pierson Therapeutic Research Program”) to study
smoked marijuana as a therapeutic agent. That program has been inactive since
1981, and it is unlikely that implementation of the Lynn Pierson Act at this
time would accomplish the goals for which it was intended. Medical marijuana clinical research was conducted
at the University of New Mexico between 1978 and 1986, but was then discontinued.
DOH notes that a law that would provide for the
compassionate use of medical marijuana in a regulated environment would
accomplish the goals for which the Lynn Pierson Act was intended but would
provide more ready access to individuals suffering with debilitating diseases.
DOH suggests that repeal of the Lynn Pierson Act should occur only in
conjunction with passage of House Bill 242 (Lynn Pierson Compassionate Use
Act).
According
to DOH sources, this program has never been fully implemented and to date there
have been no participants. Possible
explanations for this include, the difficulty of meeting federal standards and
guidelines for receiving federal funds, acquiring marijuana, and establishing
the eligibility of prospective patients.
The New Mexico
Department of Health has extensively discussed reinitiating medical cannabis
research under the Lynn Pierson Therapeutic Research Program with investigators
at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center and the Southwest CARE
Center (the second largest provider of HIV/AIDS care in the state.) However, the investigators feel that the
relatively small number of potential study participants, and the difficulty of
acquiring the approvals required by the federal government, make it unlikely
that a useful research program could be sustained. The investigators indicate the programs underway at larger
research institutions would be more likely to provide information on the role
of medical marijuana. Additionally, New
Mexico investigators who were also the primary care physicians of cancer and
HIV/AIDS patients stated that compassionate access to medical marijuana would
provide more benefit to patients than a clinical research program. This consideration further reduced the
motivation of investigators or patients to participate in research trials of
limited value
RELATIONSHIP
HB
461 relates to HB 242. HB 242 would
enact the Lynn Pierson Compassionate Use Program. The Program would provide for the regulated use of medical
cannabis by individuals suffering from specific debilitating illnesses
including cancer, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma and epilepsy. Physicians would make application to the program on behalf of
patients who suffer from the defined debilitating illnesses and who might
benefit from medical cannabis.
OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES
HB461
would eliminate the following from Chapter 26, Drugs and Cosmetics:
26-2A-4, of the Lynn Pierson
Therapeutic Research Program section states –
26-2A-6 addresses distribution.
26-2A-7 specifies that an annual report shall be provided to the Governor and the Legislature regarding recommendations and the effectiveness of the Pierson research program.
Federal regulation of therapeutic research
programs is very specific as to where and how marijuana may be obtained and
distributed for use in a State program, and while the US Supreme Court has
consistently failed to uphold State Medical Use of Marijuana laws, the federal
therapeutic use guidelines for distributing marijuana to be used for medicinal
purposes include:
·
Legal sources
of marijuana for research purposes are: 1) Receiving it from the National
Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA); 2) Importing it from specific sources with
permission from the DEA; 3) DEA permission to cultivate it; and 4) Using
confiscated marijuana supplied by the State police.
·
Using marijuana
confiscated by State police for the purposes of a medicinal use of marijuana
program requires that the marijuana must be tested to meet federal requirements
on impurity, which is cost prohibitive.
BD/yr:sb