{"id":7309,"date":"2017-03-25T08:15:36","date_gmt":"2017-03-25T08:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.denverpost.com?p=2590612&amp;preview_id=2590612"},"modified":"2017-03-25T08:15:36","modified_gmt":"2017-03-25T08:15:36","slug":"colorado-lawmakers-urge-governor-to-step-in-on-medical-marijuana-registry-backlog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-lawmakers-urge-governor-to-step-in-on-medical-marijuana-registry-backlog\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado lawmakers urge governor to step in on medical marijuana registry backlog"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/colorado-lawmakers-urge-governor-to-step-in-on-medical-marijuana-registry-backlog\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><div class=\"row\" id=\"sticky-outer\">\n<div class=\"large-11 small-12 columns\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta-date\">Published: Mar 24, 2017, 5:32 pm \u2022 Updated: Mar 24, 2017, 5:32 pm<span class=\"single-comments-link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/24\/colorado-medical-marijuana-registry-backlog-lawmakers-urge-governor\/76107\/#disqus_thread\" class=\"commentsNameLink\" \/><\/span><\/div>\n<p class=\"byline\">By <span class=\"author\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\">Alicia Wallace<\/a><\/span><em>, The Cannabist Staff<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Three Colorado legislators are calling on Gov. John Hickenlooper to intervene in the state\u2019s medical marijuana registry backlog, an issue that one lawmaker says is a matter of \u201clife and death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the letter sent to the governor Friday, Democratic representatives Jovan Melton, Adrienne Benavidez and Steve Lebsock expressed their disappointment with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, saying \u201cthere is no excuse\u201d for the Medical Marijuana Registry\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/16\/colorado-medical-marijuana-backlog-online-registry\/75574\/\">six- to eight-week backlog<\/a> for mailed applications for medical cannabis cards. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout medical marijuana cards, our Colorado patients are unable to get the medicine they need,\u201d the legislators wrote. \u201cEmphysema patients, cancer patients, children with epilepsy and many others have been adversely (affected) by the department\u2019s neglectful disregard for patients. We urge you to get personally involved to correct this injustice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter was carbon copied to Dr. Larry Wolk, CDPHE executive director.<\/p>\n<p>The mailed application wait times, which typically hover around 35 days, spiked as a result of the state\u2019s Jan. 1 implementation of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colorado.gov\/pacific\/cdphe\/medicalmarijuana\">new online registry<\/a>. Additionally, the Medical Marijuana Registry\u2019s staff was swamped with calls and e-mails about the transition that compounded the delays, registry program manager Natalie Riggins <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/2017\/03\/16\/colorado-medical-marijuana-backlog-online-registry\/75574\/\">told The Cannabist last week<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Registry officials are encouraging patients to register online, where they can receive their card in two to three business days after correctly submitting required documentation. As of this week, 23,000 medical marijuana patients, more than 20 percent of registry patients, are using the online system, according to CDPHE.<\/p>\n<p>Patients will be able to submit paper applications through the end of the year; the registry moves fully online in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>One issue that cardholders have had with the new online system is that in order to complete the process electronically, their recommending physician needs to be registered online as well. State officials said the requirement is a function of the site.<\/p>\n<p>Lebsock, D-Thornton, received some calls about the backlog from constituents earlier this month, but didn\u2019t know the extent of the delays until reading The Cannabist\u2019s report. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat just kind of put my feet to the fire and think, \u2018We really do need to contact the governor,&#8217;\u201d he said Friday. \u201cIt\u2019s just not right for patients to literally wait for months to get their medicine.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Lebsock said he would want the governor to pick up the phone, call Wolk and instruct him to have CDPHE prioritize this issue. From there, Lebsock asks CDPHE to identify the hangups and solve the problems.<\/p>\n<p>As of Friday, the registry office was processing mailed applications received on Feb. 9, 2017. <\/p>\n<p>Riggins told The Cannabist last week that she expected the registry to return to the 35-day turnaround for mailed applications by the mid-April, if not by the end of this month.<\/p>\n<p>CDPHE officials, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colorado.gov\/pacific\/cdphe\/news\/MMR_processing\" target=\"_blank\">in an announcement made Monday<\/a>, said that goal would be met by March 31.<\/p>\n<p>When reached by The Cannabist on Friday, CDPHE spokesman Mark Salley referenced Monday\u2019s announcement and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.colorado.gov\/pacific\/cdphe\/news\/online-MMR\" target=\"_blank\">March 3 statement<\/a> about the hiring of temporary staff.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unfortunate there has been a processing backlog, and frustrating for patients in the registry or those applying for the registry,\u201d Salley said via e-mail. \u201cI personally received about 15 phone calls, so I know of the patients\u2019 frustration. I have been assured by a week from today the backlog should be cleared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hickenlooper was traveling and unavailable Friday for comment. Officials at the governor\u2019s office referred queries to CDPHE. <\/p>\n<p>Lebsock said getting back to a 35-day waiting period doesn\u2019t go far enough. Medical marijuana patients should be able to receive their recommended medicine within days \u2014 not weeks and months. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is literally life and death for some people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3524146\/Colorado-legislators-March-24-2017-letter-to-Gov.pdf\">Colorado legislators\u2019 March 24, 2017 letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper about medical marijuana registry (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/3524146\/Colorado-legislators-March-24-2017-letter-to-Gov.txt\">Colorado legislators\u2019 March 24, 2017 letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper about medical marijuana registry (Text)<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-meta-author\">\n<div class=\"authorimage\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"http:\/\/www.thecannabist.co\/author\/awallace\/\" rel=\"author\"><img src=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/colorado-lawmakers-urge-governor-to-step-in-on-medical-marijuana-registry-backlog.jpg\" class=\"authormug\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p class=\"author-desc\">Alicia Wallace joined The Cannabist in July 2016, covering national marijuana policy and business. She contributes to the Denver Post&#8217;s beer industry coverage. In her 13 years as a business news reporter, her coverage has spanned the economy, Sports&#8230;<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!-- .row --> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three Colorado legislators are calling on Gov. John Hickenlooper to intervene in the state&#8217;s medical marijuana registry backlog, an issue that one lawmaker says is a matter of &#8220;life and death.&#8221; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6895,6907,6857,77,56,9,5019,1,3,61,1736],"tags":[6896,6909,6859,2655,2636,5022],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}