DEA Crackdown Further Delays Marijuana Dispensaries, Advocates Say

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Nicholas Handy, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Massachusetts medical marijuana advocates feel that another roadblock has been set up in the medical marijuana dispensary process, this time in the form of intervention from the DEA.

Last week reports began to surface that the DEA had been contacting doctors who serve as administrative members to proposed medical marijuana dispensaries, asking them to either step down or risk losing a federal license to prescribe controlled medication.

“I think that this is ridiculous,” said Michael Maloney, an attorney and Chief Legal Counsel for Canna Care Docs. “Medical marijuana is recommended by a license physician. The scare tactics used by the DEA are definitely frustrating and inappropriate. The issue of delaying the medical marijuana dispensaries and trying to remove doctors from administrative positions are one in the same.”

These reports are on the heels of a recent announcement that an amendment to H4660 passed in the House last week, which will limit the federal government’s ability to enforce federal marijuana laws in states where medical marijuana is legal if passed in the Senate. The DEA was reached out to for comment regarding the intervention, but did not return any calls.

Silencing Doctors

Many marijuana advocates feel that the DEA’s harsh penalty for being involved with a medical marijuana dispensary is a way to silence doctors from assisting in the medical marijuana field, a form of medication that the DEA is against.

Offering doctors an ultimatum by forcing them to choose between their involvement with a medical marijuana dispensary company and their federal license giving them access to prescribe certain medication is seen by these advocates as a scare tactic, something that could ultimately pull doctors away from involvement in the medical marijuana field.

“This is a blatant attempt to silence and intimidate doctors who acknowledge the therapeutic efficacy of cannabis,” said Wayne Reiss, a Worcester native and marijuana advocate. “The DEA is fully cognizant that they are losing this debate. Their strategy to deny cannabis science and obstruct its dissemination is unsustainable. In this particular case, the DEA is attempting to silence doctors from supporting and giving scientific credence to cannabis as medicine.”

Keeping the Patient in Mind

While the DEA going after doctors is the most recent focus of the medical marijuana debate, Matthew Allen, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, hopes that it won’t draw the importance away from the patients that need care.

Legislation, government agencies, and more have all been roadblocks in getting the medical marijuana dispensaries implemented in the Commonwealth but it is the patients that advocates should be most concerned with. Regardless of current opinions, medical marijuana is a medicine that could ultimately alleviate pain and save lives.

“Any action by the DEA to chill participation in the medical marijuana dispensary program – for any purpose – is ultimately bad for the patients who rely on the medication,” said Allen. “From a policy perspective, we would like to see doctors on the staff because it helps from an education perspective. We are still advocating for the dispensaries to open because we have the interests and well being of the patients in mind.”

Adding Legitimacy

Not all medical marijuana advocates are concerned that the DEA giving doctors involved with the medical marijuana process an ultimatum will affect the dispensary approval and implementation process.

Matt Simon, the Political Director for the New England branch of the Marijuana Policy Project, doesn’t believe that the dispensary process will get bogged down because not all dispensaries have a doctor on staff. Regardless, Simon thinks that the DEA’s involvement is sad because without doctors, these dispensaries loose an opportunity to add a sense of legitimacy to their businesses.

“I think it is unfortunate that the DEA would want to undermine Massachusetts state law in this way,” said Simon. “It may slow down some applicants who have a doctor under threat on board, but I don’t see it as a threat to the dispensary process as a whole. It really is unfortunate because having a doctor on board could really add a sense of legitimacy to dispensaries. I think that having a doctor on board could help to make more people feel comfortable about medical marijuana dispensaries.”