I did a 22 minute interview the other day with Iowa Public Radio and will upload the full conversation here later. It was a good discussion. I didn’t record the Fox interview unfortunately, and it was a really good discussion too where I was finally able to flesh out my thoughts and come to a conclusion about the dichotomy patients around Iowa face with the new medical cannabis trap, errrr, program.
From http://www.iowapublicradio.org/post/medical-marijuana-dispensaries-open-iowa-saturday
So far, the state’s Department of Transportation has issued 1,466 registration cards for the program. More than 350 applicants have been approved and still need to get cards. Iowa Department of Public Health Deputy Director Sarah Reisetter says the numbers are lower than expected, but she anticipates they will grow.
“If people are sitting back waiting until dispensaries are open, that kind of makes sense because those registration cards have purchasing power starting on Saturday,” Reisetter said.
The cards cost $100 and have to be renewed annually. Medicaid patients or those receiving disability payments who provide proof of their status to the Department of Public Health can obtain one for a reduced fee of $25.
The legislature passed a bill in 2017 allowing a type of medical cannabis called medical cannabidiol to be manufactured and distributed in the state. Jason Karimi, the executive director for Iowa Patients for Medical Marijuana, said though it’s a victory “that we are no longer debating or trying to determine whether marijuana is medicine”, the program is “highly restrictive.”
Karimi points to state law that says medical marijuana cannot have more than 3 percent THC. This chemical compound makes people feel high.
“It should be 100 percent THC,” he said. “There should be no restrictions. The reason being it should be just like with any other medication. It should be up to the doctors as to what the safety is and to what level you can prescribe or recommend.”
He continued, “The patients need the most effective medicine they can [get].”
Medpharm’s General Manager Lucas Nelson said the THC cap is one of the biggest issues in the program as the dispensaries open.
“It does not allow us to formulate all of the products that we would otherwise be able to,” Nelson said. “It also, and probably most importantly, requires patients to take more capsules than they otherwise need to.”
Nelson says he plans to bring the THC cap as well as other restrictions up during next year’s legislative session, to make the program more inclusive.
“There’s a lot of restrictions which means there’s going to be a lot people who simply are blocked out of this, whether that’s because their condition doesn’t qualify or because they simply can’t afford it or maybe they don’t have access to a caregiver, to a car and they can’t get there,” Nelson said.
WeedPress: The Paper Trail 
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