CCC will wait and see to intervene on vape ban
Medical marijuana vape products could end up back on the shelves next week if the state ban is lifted, after a confrontation broke out among Cannabis Control Commissioners over whether or not to intervene.
Chairman Steven Hoffman pushed for a timeframe on when the Commission would make a decision on whether or not to assert its authority over the part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s vape ban that includes medical marijuana cartridges, in accordance with Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins’ ruling. The four other members of the Commission resisted making a decision without more data on what’s causing the epidemic that has so far taken the lives of three Massachusetts residents.
“I vehemently disagree with where we are right now, but will support the majority,” Hoffman said during the Commission meeting Thursday. “I am not comfortable saying, ‘We’ll see … ‘ I believe that is shirking our responsibilities to an extreme.”
Wilkins’ decision states Baker’s emergency order conflicts with the authority of the CCC and patients’ rights under medical marijuana laws and lifts the ban next Tuesday. Commonwealth defendants are seeking a stay, arguing that the judge’s orders have the potential to create public confusion around the nature and timing of the ban.
Executive Director Shawn Collins outlined potential avenues the Commission could take if the ban is lifted and it decided to intervene through administrative action, including emergency regulations, quarantine or removal of the products.
Commissioners Shaleen Title, Kay Doyle, Jennifer Flanagan and Britte McBride argued against establishing a set timeline, however, due to the fluctuating circumstances.
“I think it’s disingenuous to create a timeframe given the fluid nature of what’s going on in the courts,” Flanagan said. “I think we have to go along with parts of the process that’s playing out outside these walls.”
Title noted that she would like to make a formal request for information from the Department of Public Health regarding any medical marijuana vapor products sold in Massachusetts that are linked to any illnesses before having a discussion to promulgate regulations.
“If we are going to make a decision, particularly if that decision limits availability of regulated products, we need to be clear about the fact that that may send people to the illicit market,” Title told reporters. “If the ban is going to be lifted on those regulated medical products, I need to see evidence about regulated medical products before I make a decision.”
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2p1QCTa
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