Timeline 2019

“We established the state system with a board of medical professionals and law enforcement who provide us with recommendations to expand or improve our program,” Upmeyer said in a statement emailed to me.  “They are not suggesting any dramatic changes at this time.  They are the experts and we will make changes based on their study and recommendations.”

Carl Olsen – private citizen, addressed the board with a single question.  “Is everything authorized by 124E a federal crime?”  Mr. Olsen indicated that he has also submitted this question in writing to the Iowa Dept. of Public Health for comment.

A member of the board commented, questioning the continued purpose of the Advisory Board, suggesting that perhaps they should make the recommendation to abolish themselves due to lack of ability to effect changes.  Several members agreed, feeling that it is important that the legislature know it makes them extremely unhappy that they have no authority, or voice, and that the board is trying to bring science to a non-science industry.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, the top Republican in the House, has said lawmakers should wait for recommendations from a state board appointed to oversee Iowa’s medical marijuana program, so these expansion plans being discussed in the Senate face an uncertain future.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, has been a skeptic of expanding the medical marijuana program.  Her spokesman, Colin Tadlock, affirmed Monday that she doesn’t see a need for the Legislature to expand the list of conditions for which Iowans can obtain marijuana extracts.

Tadlock noted in an email to the Des Moines Register that the 2017 law setting up the program included a board of physicians with power to recommend new conditions be added to the list.  “Nothing is preventing the board from doing this now by rule,” he said.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer’s spokesman said recently that she continues to doubt the need for legislators to loosen restrictions on which Iowans can purchase the medications.  She would prefer that any such moves come from a board of physicians that was appointed last year to consider proposals.

“There are things that can be done, things we will do, that make it a little easier, a little safer and give the board a little more latitude,” House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, said Tuesday after meeting with members of the Medical Cannabidiol Board.

Klein’s bill, in its current form, has support from House Speaker Linda Upmeyer.  The Clear Lake Republican is a key vote on the issue because she helps decide which legislation will get a vote in the Republican-controlled chamber.

Both Klein and Breckenridge said in interviews Friday that they met face-to-face with several members of the advisory board earlier this year.  House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, R-Clear Lake, also attended the meeting, which was held in her office.

. . . . .

The advisory board’s chairman, Mike McKelvey, said Friday that he and Zadeh were among four board members who met with legislators.

McKelvey, a Mason City police captain, is the only non-physician on the board.  He said, like Zadeh, he was surprised to hear legislators claim board members supported the level of THC this week’s bill would allow in medical marijuana products.  That was not his recollection of what was said at the meeting with legislators.

Klein said Monday on Iowa Public Radio’s River to River the bill was based on discussions with a few members of the board – not the board as a whole.

“In discussions with them . . . we recognized the challenge of meeting compliance when we’re basing it on percentage and not weight,” Klein said.  “At the end of that meeting, we had not landed on an exact gram amount.”

Reynolds was noncommittal at a news conference this week when asked about the bill.

I approve this Senate File to allow Iowa to begin the process of entering a new agricultural marketplace for hemp.  But Iowans should be aware that this bill does not legalize the sale or manufacturing of all hemp-derived products, such as cannabidiol (“CBD”).  The retail sale and manufacturing of hemp-derived products is still governed by federal law.  While the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) has approved some hemp-derived food ingredients for human and animal consumption, it has not approved CBD.  The FDA has also declared that CBD is not a dietary supplement.  State law cannot preempt the federal law, and Iowans engaging in the manufacture, sale, or purchase of hemp-derived products should carefully consider the legality of their actions under Iowa and federal law.  And Iowans should be aware that nearly all of the provisions of this bill will not go into effect until the federal government approves our state hemp plan.

As federal regulatory bodies approve additional hemp-derived products and the hemp industry evolves, it is imperative that our state agencies and the Iowa legislature remain vigilant in evaluating the effects of this legislation and the need for additional changes to ensure that our laws protect the health and safety of all Iowans.

Most of the changes included in House File 732 were the result of the Legislature and the Medical Cannabidiol Board coming together to reach agreement on appropriate and positive improvements to our medical CBD program.  I fully support these changes.  But unfortunately, the bill would also remove the three percent limit on THC in medical CBD products and replace it with a limit of 25 grams of THC per 90-day period.  This change was not recommended by the Board.  And if approved, it would drastically expand Iowa’s medical CBD program far beyond its original scope of CBD-based treatments and could open the door to significant unintended consequences to the health and safety of Iowans.

I agree that there should be some change to the three percent THC limit.  There appears to be consensus, including from the Board, that a gram-based limit would be more appropriate than a percentage-based limit.  But I have not been unable to discern any evidence-based justification for the specific 25-gram limit proposed in this bill.  And after its review of the available evidence, the Board recommended a limit of only 4.5 grams per 90-day period.

It may be that a THC limit higher than 4.5 grams is appropriate.  But the 25-gram limit in this bill would allow a person to consume more than 277 milligrams of THC per day—an amount higher than one would typically consume even with aggressive recreational marijuana use.  This is all the more concerning because a participant in the program is not prescribed a particular dosage by a medical practitioner or monitored on an ongoing basis for any adverse health consequences.  Iowa’s program only requires a practitioner to certify that the participant suffers from a qualifying condition on an annual basis.