CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Members of the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Advisory Board are working to develop a plan for residents seeking pain relief through medical marijuana.
“This is about helping people, families and communities across West Virginia and, in some ways, address the crisis of opioids and chronic pain,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, board chairman and state health officer.
The board’s first meeting was Wednesday at the University of Charleston following the passage of the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act.
Governor Jim Justice signed the bill (SB 386) into law April 9.
Several doctors, government officials, law enforcement officers and other community leaders make up the 12-member board. The board is overseen by the state Department of Health and Human Resources’ Bureau for Public Health.
Gupta, who also serves as commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health, said the board is responsible for recommending rules that are needed to implement the current law. Those rules will outline how the program will operate in connection with the growing, processing, selling and use of medical marijuana.
During the process of developing the plan, the board plans to hear from the public at each of its meetings. Meetings will be held across the state. Written comments are also being accepted through the DHHR’s Office of Medical Cannabis website.
There were six people who spoke at Wednesday’s meeting.
“We heard and learned from a lot of people,” Gupta said. “It put a face to the suffering in West Virignia.”
One of the speakers Don Smith, a licensed hemp farmer from Tornado, brought a portion of one of his plants for board members to pass around.
“I think bringing that plant was a very, very good first step,” Smith said. “There’s nothing like a dose of reality to get your head screwed on right, so that’s what I did it for.”
Smith is the CEO of Agri Carb Electric Corporation. He said he got involved with the industry after his wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He’s hoping the new law will improve the quality of life in West Virginia and drive the state’s economy.
“The ag hemp industry in this state is going to be huge. Absolute huge. We’re already working on deals that are worth tens, if not, hundreds of millions of dollars,” he said.
Under the current law, medical marijuana will be available as pills; oils; for vaporization or nebulization; in topical forms, like gels, creams or ointments; tinctures; liquids or dermal patches. Smokable and pre-made edible forms of marijuana are not permitted.
Patients and caregivers will be issued identification cards beginning on July 1, 2019. The fee will be $50, though exceptions could be made for people who cannot afford that. Licensed physicians will then prescribe the medication.
The board plans to establish locations for dispensaries in the state. On Wednesday, the legal council said county commissions can opt out of growing medical marijuana in their county; however, patients will be allowed to pick up a prescription in another county.
Conducting surveys to show the demand for the number of patients needed for medical marijuana and for the number of doctors who are allowed to prescribe it is also being considered by the board. Barb Taylor, deputy commissioner for Health Protection with the Bureau of Public Health, said the surveys would also help determine where the dispensaries are set up in the state.
The implementation of the new law has been a challenge because no funds were allotted for it, according to Taylor. Gupta said they now have to find other avenues to make the program work “without burdening the tax payers of West Virginia.”
West Virginia, the 29th state to pass medical marijuana legislation, is not going to try and “reinvent the wheel,” but rather learn from other medical cannabis states, Gupta said.
“We can learn from their mistakes as well as their achievements, so we are not in the reinventing the wheel process, but we’re actually learning the best practices and standards from across the country and then implementing them in a way that we can be successful without making mistakes,” he said.
To speed up the process, Gupta said the board is looking to create subcommittees.
“When we have future meetings, they can bring in their views and their products so we can start to either vote or discuss that. That will accelerate the process of decision making, he said.
While doing so, Smith suggests board members should put the patients’ needs first.
“We have to make sure our customers are completely delighted, satisfied and will come back for more,” he said.
The state Department of Revenue will monitor the cost of medical cannabis to ensure prices are not unreasonable.
The next meeting for the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Advisory Board is scheduled for Oct. 11 at 1 p.m. at the University of Charleston.