Senator Anthony Delcollo has introduced a bill in the state senate to change the law so that doctors will be free to decide which patient would be helped by medical marijuana instead of first checking whether that patient has a condition listed in the medical marijuana law.
Under the current law which was passed in 2011, patients can only qualify to get onto the medical marijuana program if they have one of the “debilitating conditions” such as terminal illnesses and cancer.
Delcollo argues that doctors undergo extensive training and have a lot of experience in the field. These professionals should be given the liberty to decide what is in the best interest of their patients, he says.
Senate Bill 24 is therefore intended to free doctors to use their discretion in determining whether medical cannabis will provide “palliative or therapeutic benefit” to patients.
The senator argues that this wouldn’t be a new thing since doctors are already exercising their professional discretion to determine which pharmaceuticals on the market are most likely to be beneficial to their patients.
Medical cannabis advocates concur and say that the proposed change is long overdue. They add that it should have been part of the first law that legalized medical marijuana in the state in 2011.
The bill is also intended to ease the restrictions on the kinds of medical specialists that are authorized to recommend the use of medical cannabis by patients who are younger than 18. However, the change would not alter the current provision stating that patients who are less than 18 can only use cannabis oil and not any other form of medical marijuana.
Senate Bill 24 enjoys bipartisan sponsorship and support, so it is hoped that the lawmakers will debate it thoroughly and give it the nod.
If it passes, Delaware will join Oklahoma and Maine as the only states that give doctors such leeway in deciding who can or cannot be treated using medical marijuana.
It hasn’t been an easy journey for Delaware to get to this point. It should be recalled that there were endless delays in opening the compassion centers where patients could access medical cannabis. To date, only four such centers are operational in the state.
More recently, there were plans to legalize recreational marijuana legislatively. More than a year was taken to debate the bill and when a vote was called, the bill was defeated by just four votes in June last year. No other recreational marijuana bill has yet been tabled during this legislative session.
Be that as it may, Global Payout, Inc. (OTC: GOHE), Golden Developing Solutions, Inc. (OTC: DVLP) and the entire investment community are hoping that this time round, appropriate legislation improving the medical cannabis environment is passed so that all interested parties, such as patients, can benefit.
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