Relating to the medical cannabidiol Act, and including transition provisions

The bill removes the percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) limit from the definition of medical cannabidiol. The bill instead prohibits a patient or a primary caregiver from purchasing more than grams of THC in a 90-day period. The bill allows medical cannabidiol dispensaries to access the registry of medical cannabidiol patients to verify that a patient or primary caregiver has not purchased more than grams of THC in a 90-day period. The bill also allows a health care practitioner to access the registry of medical cannabidiol patients in order to monitor the amount of medical cannabidiol purchased by the health care practitioners’s patient or the primary caregiver of a patient. The bill removes the board of medicine from the process of amending the acceptable form and quantity of medical cannabidiol. The bill directs the department of public health to adopt rules allowing a health care practitioner who has issued a written certification for a medical cannabidiol registration card to a patient to revoke that certification. A medical cannabidiol registration card issued on the basis of a written certification shall no longer be valid. A patient or primary caregiver with a revoked written certification has days to dispose of medical cannabidiol still in the possession of the patient or primary caregiver or to receive another written certification. A patient or primary caregiver shall not receive more than two written certifications per year. The bill removes provisions preventing a patient or a primary caregiver from receiving a medical cannabidiol registration card if the patient or primary caregiver has been convicted of a disqualifying felony. The bill directs the department of public health to adopt rules for issuance of a caregiver medical cannabidiol registration card to an institution, including but not limited to a school, university, nursing home, long-term care facility, correctional facility, or jail, to allow employees of the institution to administer medical cannabidiol to patients in the care of the institution. The bill also permits the department of public health to issue a medical cannabidiol registration card to a patient receiving hospice care in this state without first receiving a written certification from a health care practitioner. The bill changes the expiration date of medical cannabidiol registration cards from one year after the date of issuance to two years after the date of issuance. The bill removes the department of transportation from the process of applying for and receiving a medical cannabidiol registration card and requires the department of public health to issue medical cannabidiol registration cards and makes conforming Code changes. A medical cannabidiol registration card previously issued by the department of transportation prior to July 1, 2020, remains effective and continues in effect for the 12-month period following its issuance. The bill allows the medical cannabidiol board to meet more than four times per year. The bill requires the department of public health to adopt rules to modify the list of debilitating medical conditions for which a certification for a medical cannabidiol registration card may be issued when the medical cannabidiol board recommends such a change. The bill removes the board of medicine from the process of adding debilitating medical conditions to the list of debilitating conditions for which a written certification for a medical cannabidiol registration card may be issued. The bill makes changes with respect to medical cannabidiol manufacturers, medical cannabidiol dispensaries, and medical cannabidiol product testing. A medical cannabidiol testing laboratory must report testing results to the department of public health in addition to the manufacturer of the product being tested. The bill provides that an annual renewal fee for a medical cannabidiol manufacturer license or medical cannabidiol dispensary license shall be $2,000. The state hygienic laboratory at the university of Iowa in Iowa City shall not charge a medical cannabidiol manufacturer more than $50,000 per year for the testing of medical cannabidiol products. The bill requires the department of public health to establish a committee to review product matrices, testing protocols, and testing procedures used by medical cannabidiol testing laboratories. The committee shall consist of five members, selected by the department of public health, with three members representing independent medical cannabidiol testing laboratories and two members who are professors at regents institutions with relevant education and experience and no association with any medical cannabidiol testing laboratory. Prior to implementing any new product matrix, testing protocol, or testing procedure, a medical cannabidiol testing laboratory must submit the product matrix, protocol, or procedure to the committee for approval. A medical cannabidiol testing laboratory shall not use a new product matrix, protocol, or procedure that has not been approved by the committee or has been disapproved. Product matrices, protocols, and procedures in use prior to July 1, 2020, are not subject to review, except that a medical cannabidiol manufacturer of a product that has failed a test administered by a medical cannabidiol testing laboratory may contest the results of the test with the committee, who shall approve or disapprove the results of the test. A manufacturer of a product that failed a test that was disapproved by the committee may request that the product be tested again without the disapproved product matrix, testing protocol, or testing procedure by the committee. The bill requires the department of public health to conduct a study on the efficacy of medical cannabidiol in treating patients with debilitating medical conditions upon receipt of funding. The bill also requires the department of public health to request guarantees from agencies of the federal government providing funding to educational and long-term care facilities in the state that such facilities shall not lose such funding for allowing patients to possess and use medical cannabidiol on the grounds of the facilities.