The Iowa Board of Pharmacy will again consider “whether marijuana is improperly classified as a schedule I controlled substance in Iowa,” according to a press release from Iowans for Medical Marijuana. The public hearing will be held on Tuesday, July 21, from 9:50 am to 10:20 am in the shared conference room located at RiverPoint Business Park, 400 S.W. Eighth Street, Suite E in Des Moines. Public comments will be limited to five minutes per speaker.
This will be the Iowa Board of Pharmacy’s third public hearing on the matter. At the previous hearing in June, the board declined to consider whether marijuana has “accepted medical use” in the U.S. Currently, Iowa law states that marijuana has no accepted medical use in this country, even though more than a dozen states now permit doctors to prescribe it under certain circumstances.
The press release from Iowans for Medical Marijuana contains more background information, so I’ve posted the full text after the jump. I’ll follow up on this story after Tuesday’s meeting of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy.
Pharmacy Board to consider medical marijuana
by Carl Olsen, Director
7/11/2009
Contact: 515/288-5798The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has scheduled a third public hearing on whether marijuana is improperly classified as a schedule I controlled substance in Iowa. The hearing is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 21, 2009, from 9:50 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.
On April 24, Polk County District Judge Joel D. Novak ruled that the Pharmacy Board unlawfully rejected a petition by several members of Iowans for Medical Marijuana to remove marijuana from its current classification as a substance having no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. The petition presented evidence that marijuana has been accepted for medical use in 13 states in the United States.
At the June 1 public hearing, and in response to the court’s order, the Pharmacy Board insisted that the only thing it would consider is whether marijuana should have accepted medical use in Iowa, which is not what the Iowa law says. Iowa law says marijuana has no accepted medical use “in the United States.” Iowa Code § 124.203(2).
Iowa Senator Joe Bolkcom (D, Iowa City) has introduced a bill in the Iowa Senate, SF 293, which will legalize the medical use of marijuana in Iowa.
Petitioner Carl Olsen, a well known marijuana activist, will be discussing the upcoming hearing on his new Internet talk radio show, “Carl’s Cannabis Corner”, on Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on www.macsworldlive.com.
Petitioners McMahon and Douglass are two of the last four persons in the country who are enrolled in the federal “Investigational New Drug (IND) Compassionate Access Program” under which they receive marijuana grown by the federal government to use to alleviate their medical conditions under the supervision of a physician. In 1992 the George H.W. Bush administration closed the program to new patients when it became clear that a large number of AIDS victims were turning to marijuana for relief of their symptoms.
The judge in this case was the Hon. Joel D. Novak. The attorneys were Scott Galenbeck from the Iowa Attorney General’s office, representing the Board of Pharmacy, and Randall C. Wilson, Legal Director of the ACLU of Iowa Foundation, representing Petitioners, McMahon, Scott and Douglass. Carl Olsen appeared pro se.
At the June 1 public hearing, the petitioners were not allowed to speak although the meeting notice said public comments were welcome at the hearing. The announcement for the July 21 public hearing also says public comments are welcome at the hearing. The Pharmacy Board’s public hearing notice can be found on their website at:
http://www.state.ia.us/ibpe/bo…
A copy of the Pharmacy Board’s agenda for the July 21 meeting can be found on their website at:
http://www.state.ia.us/ibpe/pd…
For More Information:
Carl Olsen, Director
Iowans for Medical Marijuana