SP0578, LD 1531, item 1, An Act To Maintain Access to Safe Medical Marijuana

An Act To Maintain Access to Safe Medical Marijuana

Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas, the people of Maine voted in support of access for patients to legal and safe medical marijuana in both 1999 and 2009; and

Whereas, thousands of Maine residents suffer from one of the debilitating medical conditions for which medical marijuana is currently allowed for treatment, including cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, agitation of Alzheimer's disease and nail-patella syndrome, among others; and

Whereas, immediate enactment of this Act is necessary to ensure continued access to safe medical marijuana for the thousands of Maine patients currently recommended this medicine; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2423-A, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by PL 2011, c. 407, Pt. B, §16, is further amended to read:

B. Cultivate up to 6 mature marijuana plants for each qualifying patient who has designated the primary caregiver to cultivate marijuana on the patient's behalf, subject to the limitation in subsection 1, paragraph B on the total number of plants authorized per qualifying patient. A primary caregiver may not use a pesticide on marijuana being cultivated for a patient unless the pesticide has been approved for such use by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Board of Pesticides Control. A primary caregiver may not cultivate marijuana for a patient unless the patient has designated the primary caregiver for that purpose and the patient has not designated a registered dispensary to cultivate marijuana for the patient's medical use. In addition to the marijuana plants otherwise authorized under this paragraph, a primary caregiver may have harvested marijuana plants in varying stages of processing in order to ensure the primary caregiver is able to meet the needs of the primary caregiver's qualifying patients;

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §2428, sub-§9, ¶G is enacted to read:

G. A dispensary may not use a pesticide on marijuana being cultivated for a patient unless the pesticide has been approved for such use by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Board of Pesticides Control.

Sec. 3. Authorized pesticides for use in medical marijuana cultivation. The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Board of Pesticides Control shall establish and make publicly available a list of minimum risk pesticides authorized for use in the cultivation of medical marijuana. The authorized pesticides must be exempt from federal regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, Section 25(b). The board shall publish the list no later than 30 days following the effective date of this section. Action taken by the board pursuant to this section is not rulemaking for purposes of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.

summary

This bill prohibits the use of pesticides in the cultivation of medical marijuana unless the pesticide is authorized by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Board of Pesticides Control. The bill directs the board to establish, for authorized use in the cultivation of medical marijuana, a list of minimum risk pesticides that are exempt from federal regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, Section 25(b).

SP0578 LD 1531	Session - 126th Maine Legislature		LR 2131 Item 1
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