A flowering room at Revolution Enterprises Cannabis in Delavan, Ill., is seen Monday, Aug. 15, 2016. The $23 million, 75,525-square-foot facility is a medical marijuana cultivation center, "a growers paradise for the research of cannabis" stated Tim McGraw, CEO and founder of Revolution Enterprises. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)
When Illinois expanded its medical marijuana program this summer to allow more conditions to qualify for the drug's use, advocates hailed the change as a victory for patients.
But a little-noticed detail in the new law is at the center of a legal battle that could determine whether the state adds any more qualifying conditions in the future.
As the list of conditions expanded, state officials have been pushing back, trying to clamp down on broader access.
The conflict is part of a nationwide controversy over whether to expand access to the federally illegal drug. This fall, that debate reaches a potential turning point, with nine more states set to vote on the drug's legalization.
In the meantime, despite a political deadlock that has blocked passage of a comprehensive budget, Republican and Democratic leaders in Illinois came together this summer over the issue of medical marijuana and moved forward using an old-fashioned principle: compromise.
Leaders from both parties agreed on a new law to extend the state's pilot medical marijuana program more than two years, to mid-2020, while adding post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness to the list of 39 qualifying conditions.
But another part of that law abolished the existing medical marijuana advisory board, which was made up of medical experts, patients and advocates. The board had repeatedly recommended adding new qualifying medical conditions that were then consistently rejected by the Illinois Department of Health.
The compromise between Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration and Rep. Lou Lang, a Democrat from Skokie who sponsored the original medical marijuana legislation, expanded the program. But, it also gave Rauner more control over medical marijuana's future expansion in Illinois, without having to publicly reject recommended conditions.
The advisory board will be reconstituted but will have no power to hold public hearings or make recommendations. Instead, health Director Nirav Shah will "consult with Department staff to analyze the clinical and scientific merit of the petitions" and will have sole discretion over adding new conditions. The board can merely review conditions and file an annual report.
That change in the law and rules has now become the focus of legal battles over the program.
Seven lawsuits have been filed in Cook County court by plaintiffs who said they suffer from debilitating conditions and that marijuana could be beneficial. So far, three judges have reversed the director's rejections of four conditions — post-traumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, migraines and, most recently, chronic post-operative pain. The judges ruled that the director unjustly included his own review of the conditions in his determinations, rather than limiting himself to the evidence before the advisory board.
While some judges ordered the director to reconsider his decision, Judge Neil Cohen ruled that the department must add chronic post-operative pain to the qualifying conditions within 30 days.
The Illinois Attorney General's Office is challenging all of those rulings, which could take months to hash out in court.
But if judges follow similar reasoning in the other cases, all the conditions could be added, which could significantly expand the patient base.
So far, there are about 10,000 patients approved statewide who bought $3.3 million in cannabis from state-approved dispensaries last month. That's far below initial projections largely due to the restrictive list of medical conditions, as well as requirements for patients to submit fingerprints for criminal background checks.
Jim Champion, a veteran with multiple sclerosis who was a member of the advisory board, said he and other board members agreed to the new law as a way to provide more patients access, even though it meant the new board will become a "joke" with no real power.
"It's for the betterment of the program," he said, though he added, "I would be shocked if they add any new conditions."
In May, the advisory board recommended approval of a dozen conditions, which are still pending before the Department of Health, exceeding the 180 days allowed for approval or rejection under the state law. A department spokeswoman said review of the conditions was delayed but that the director would ultimately decide those petitions based on past input from the advisory board.
Attorney Bob Bauerschmidt, who represents all the patients who have filed suit, called the legal changes and court fight "very frustrating."
Story Source: The above story is based on materials provided by CHICAGOTRIBUNE
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