I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “Laws are Like Sausages. Better Not to See Them Being Made.”
2014 Medical Cannabidiol Act
Iowa Poll: 59% back legalizing medical marijuana, Tony Leys, Des Moines Register, March 2, 2014
Senate File 2360 (Medical Cannabidiol Act)
SF 2360 was introduced by Senator Joe Bolkcom (chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee) on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, and created the Medical Cannabidiol Act, Iowa Code Chapter 124D. SF 2360 passed in the Senate by a vote of 36-12 at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, 2014.
After a last minute House amendment by Representative Clel Baudler (chair of the House Public Safety Committee), SF 2360 passed as amended in the House by a vote of 77-20 at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, 2014
The last minute House amendment required sending the bill back to the Senate early that same morning. SF 2360, as amended, passed in the Senate by a vote of 38-8 at 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 1, 2014.
SF 2360 placed a 3% cap on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a cannabidiol product.
2017 Medical Cannabidiol Act
Iowa Poll: Medical marijuana draws 78% support, Tony Leys, Des Moines Register, March 1, 2016
Medical marijuana support keeps climbing, Iowa Poll shows, Tony Leys, Des Moines Register, February 15, 2017
Senate File 506 (Medical Cannabis Act)
SF 506 was introduced by Senator Charles Schneider (chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee) on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, and would have created a Medical Cannabis Act. SF passed in the Senate by a vote of 45-5 at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, April 17, 2017.
On Tuesday, April 18, 2017, the House Ways and Means Committee assigned SF 506 to a subcommittee, but the subcommittee never met and SF 506 did not proceed any further.
House File 524 (Prescription Monitoring)
The original version of HF 524 added a daily reporting requirement and multi-state agreements to a prescription monitoring program, but said nothing about cannabiol. HF 524 passed in the House by a vote of 96-0 at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21, 2017.
A Senate amendment removed the daily reporting requirement. The amended version of HF 524 keeping the multi-state agreements passed in the Senate by a vote of 49-0 at 11:50 a.m. on Thursday, April 13, 2017.
House File 524 (Medical Cannabidiol Act)
A 22-page amendment to HF 524 by Representative Jarad Klein (vice chair of the House Public Safety Committee) was distributed at around 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2017. The amendment created a Medical Cannabidiol Act, Iowa Code Chapter 124E. The amendment was adopted and the amended version of HF 524 passed in the House by a vote of 83-11 at 6:10 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2017.
HF 524 passed in the Senate by a vote of 33-7 at 7:05 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2017. Senator Bolkcom sarcastically remarked that the sun had risen and voting was taking place in the light of day.
SF 524 retained the 3% cap on tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a cannabidiol product, and required an advisory board to advise the legislature if any change to the 3% cap on THC was needed.
2019
Senate File 501 (Medical Cannabidiol)
Senate File 256 (which later became SF 501) was introduced on February 12, 2019. SF 256 would have added additional medical conditions to the list of qualifying conditions.
SF 256 did not change the 3% cap on THC.
Senator Rich Taylor agreed to submit an amendment for me. The version of my amendment drafted by the Legislative Services Agency was a lot shorter than mine, but we agreed that submitting it was better than nothing.
SF 256 was approved by a subcommittee on February 13, 2019.
Because SF 256 went beyond the recommendations of the Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board by adding additional qualifying medical conditions, House Speaker Linda Upmeyer responded on Monday, February 18, 2019, saying the legislature should wait for the advisory board to add additional qualifying medical conditions by administrative rule without further action by the legislature.
Iowa Poll: 78% want medical marijuana program expanded, Tony Leys, Des Moines Register, February 23, 2019
SPEAKER UPMEYER MEETS PRIVATELY WITH SOME OF THE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS ON FEBRUARY 25
House speaker eyes more cannabidiol access for Iowans, James Lynch, Cedar Rapids Gazette, February 26, 2019
SF 256 was approved along with my amendment by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, March 5, 2019. At the meeting Senator Brad Zaun (chair of the committee) said my amendment was a good amendment and asked his colleagues to vote for it. My amendment passed by a vote of 14-1.
My amendment simply says the state medical cannabidiol program is not federally regulated, which seems obvious. To understand my amendment you’ll need to refer to my comments in the minutes from the Friday, February 1, 2019, advisory board meeting:
Carl Olsen – private citizen, addressed the board with a single question. “Is everything authorized by 124E a federal crime?” Mr. Olsen indicated that he has also submitted this question in writing to the Iowa Dept. of Public Health for comment.
Then read my petition to the advisory board which is on the agenda for the Friday, August 2, 2019, advisory board meeting. I am asking the board to recommend the department obtain formal acknowledgement from the federal government that our state medical cannabidiol program is exempt from federal regulation.
SF 501 (formerly SF 256), including my amendment on page 5, lines 19-23, was introduced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 and placed on the Senate Debate Calendar.
House File 732 (Medical Cannabidiol)
House Study Bill 244 (which later became HF 732) was introduced on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, apparently in response to SF 501. HSB 244 was the result of the private meeting with some of the advisory board members in Speaker Upmeyer’s office on February 25 – Cedar Rapids Gazette, February 26. There is no public record of what was said at that private meeting.
HSB 244 was introduced a day before the last day bills must be approved by a committee before dying on the Friday, March 8, 2019, funnel date (deadline).
HSB 244 did not add any new qualifying medical conditions.
HSB 244 removed the 3% cap on THC and replaced it with a 20 gram per 90 day limit which the department could lower by rule if needed.
The advisory board had not recommend removing the 3% cap on THC, and there is no public record of what “some” of the board members said at the private meeting in Speaker Upmeyer’s office.
To be clear, the advisory board made its recommendations on Friday, November 2, 2018, and then filed them with the legislature on Tuesday, January 1, 2019. The board met again on Friday, February 1, 2019, and the next board meeting was scheduled for Friday, May 2, 2019. The board had not changed it’s recommendation.
HSB 244 was approved by a subcommittee on Wednesday, March 6, 2019, the same day it was introduced. HSB 244 then passed by a unanimous vote in the House Public Safety Committee on Thursday, March 7, 2019, the day before the Friday, March 8, 2019, funnel date (deadline).
House File 732 (formerly HSB 244) was introduced by the House Public Safety Committee on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, and placed on the House Debate Calendar.
The House debated HF 732 on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. During debate, House Democrats filed several amendments: H-1074, H-1079, and H-1080. H-1079 was similar to H-1080 and it was withdrawn. H-1074 was replaced by H-1080. H-1080 was adopted.
H-1074:
Increase the limit on THC from 20 grams per 90 days to 30 grams per 90 days, remove the authority of the department to lower the limit, and allow patients with terminal illness to receive more than 30 grams per 90 days.
H-1084:
Increase the limit on THC from 20 grams per 90 days to 25 grams per 90 days, remove the authority of the department to lower the limit, and allow patients with terminal illness to receive more than 25 grams per 90 days.
HF 732 then passed as amended (H-1080) by a vote of 96-3.
The following Friday, two of the advisory board members (two who attended the private meeting in the House Speaker’s office) said they had been misrepresented. Medical marijuana bill allowing stronger medications contradicts stance of state’s expert panel, Tony Leys and Barbara Rodriguez, Des Moines Register, Friday, March 29, 2019.
What I find highly unusual is that these two board members (or any of the board members, for that matter) did not say anything from March 7 when HF 732 was introduced until March 26 when it was debated and amended on the floor of the House. The amendment on March 26 increased the THC limit by 5 grams (from 20 to 25) and it removed the department’s ability to lower that limit.
Do we assume these two board members were okay with HF 732 until it was amended during debate? And, how do these two members have authority to speak for the board when the board hadn’t met to consider the matter? The board had not changed the recommendation it made in January.
HF 732 was then messaged to the Senate on March 27 and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A subcommittee approved HF 732 without recommending any amendments. However, when the full Senate Judiciary Committee considered HF 732 on Thursday, April 4, 2019, the committee recommended an amendment, S-3124, returning to the 3% cap on THC as the advisory board had recommended in January.
At this point the advisory board decided it needed to meet to consider HF 732. The advisory board is only allowed to meet four times per year and it had people with serious medical conditions who were expecting to be on the agenda for its May 3 meeting.
The advisory board decided around 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 12, 2019, to cancel the May 3 meeting and have a 1 hour special meeting at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, to consider HF 732. This was a major inconvenience for people petitioning the board to add new medical conditions.
Caregivers of patients with adult autism and self injurious behavior had already arranged for time off from work on May 3 (at a previous board meeting, the board had approved adding this condition for children but not for adults). Fortunately, the board approved these petitions to add adult autism with self injurious behavior.
At the special meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, the advisory board not only rejected HF 732, but rejected it’s own recommendation from January. The board made a new recommendation at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, April 16, 2019.
The advisory board is now recommending 4.5 grams of THC per 90 days.
This rendered S-3124 (3% limit on THC) inconsistent with the board’s new position. It also rendered HF 732 inconsistent with the new position.
S-3124 failed to pass when HF 732 was debated on the Senate floor on Saturday, April 27, 2019, and HF 732 passed by a vote of 40-7. The governor vetoed HF 732 on Friday, May 24, 2019, stating that 25 grams of THC per 90 days was more than a recreational user would consume.
The argument that recreational users and medical users should have the same level of potency seems contrived to me.
The entire session was wasted because of a back door, off the record, meeting in the House Speaker’s office on February 25 that could have been resolved on the record at the board’s formal meeting earlier in the month.
Iowans deserve better than this. Republicans and Democrats should come together before January of 2020 and come up with a plan. The advisory board has the opportunity to review a plan at it’s last meeting in 2019 or it’s first meeting in 2020. Legislators could file any amendments they think are necessary after receiving input from the board before time runs out in the session. And, everyone needs to remember, the board is advising and does not have the final say. Legislators specifically reserved the right in the act to make the final decision.
No more off the record meetings. Be open and transparent.
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