The post Lawmakers Want To Charge Doctors Who Prescribe Cannabis With A Felony appeared first on High Times.
State legislators in Arizona are looking to crack down on pre-existing medical marijuana laws with a bold, albeit harsh, set of regulations. In order to further regulate the plant amongst its medical patients, lawmakers want to charge doctors who prescribe cannabis with a felony.
A Harsh Punishment
On Thursday, Arizona’s House Health Committee voted 6-3 for HB 2067, a bill that would take aim at doctors that fail to conduct a full medical exam before recommending cannabis to their patients. Doctors could face up to a year in prison if they neglect to do their due diligence. Additionally, a similar penalty would occur for doctors that do not review at least a year of medical records prior to allowing a patient to consume medicinal cannabis.
The proposed bill comes on the heels of comments by Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, who has panned the influx of “pot docs,” or in other words, doctors that attempt to make as much money as possible by handing out medical cards to patients.
“I hear a lot from the parents who are very frustrated because their son has turned 18,” Polk told lawmakers. “They visited what we call the ‘pot docs,’ and 30 minutes later they walk out with that recommendation.”
Polk said the practice is essentially a law loophole for people to legally obtain marijuana.
“This is a de facto recreational marijuana program,” Polk says of the 2010 law.
Polk argues that the bulk of patients receiving medical marijuana are for less-than-serious conditions. She says stats show that 3 percent of patients got the certification for cancer and fewer than