Pennsylvania has issued the proposed rules for governing doctors under the state’s medical cannabis regime, which is expected to launch in 2018. The program covers 17 chronic conditions, allowing cannabis to be dispensed as pills, oils, a liquid that can be vaporized, and topicals, the Morning Call reports.
The rules require physicians to complete a four-hour training program on medical cannabis but they cannot advertise their ability to make recommendations. According to Becky Dansky, legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project, those rules are designed to dissuade doctors from becoming “stereotypical pot docs” that will issue recommendations to almost anyone for a set price.
Doctors must also sign up to the state registry which Dansky said could limit participation in the program.
“Asking them to put their name on a list increases the odds of those doctors not participating,” she said in the report. “And when doctors don’t participate, patient access is hindered. A better option would have been to require registration of doctors who are submitting a significant number of recommendations per month.”
Other considerations include prohibiting doctors from prescribing cannabis to themselves or their family, or from holding any economic stake in medical cannabis cultivation or dispensary operations, and requiring doctors at dispensaries to notify the recommending physician if the patient has an adverse reaction. Recommending doctors must also be qualified to treat one of the 17 conditions allowed under the state regime.
The Department of Health is currently seeking comments on the proposals.