Marijuana: HB 1358 would fund police computer access to patient database

Ron Sloan.

Sloan dismisses the idea that patient privacy issues are at stake and that such a system could be abused by police looking for a reason to bust someone for a THC DUI -- especially if the information is automatically generated by an initial background check. He equates this prospect to a police officer pulling someone over simply because they pulled out of a liquor store parking lot.

"That is really a stretch that they would be able to charge that individual or have any prosecution and conviction simply because they are a medical marijuana user," he says. "I understand the concern. You aren't going to force a test via blood...just because they are registered as a medical marijuana patient. There is no administrative body or court that would support that."

The Medical Marijuana Technology Information Project would also tie in with MMED data on dispensary employees and product delivery information. The idea: If an employee on a delivery is pulled over with several pounds of marijuana on them, he can prove without a doubt that it's legal under state law. While the details have yet to be worked out, Sloan says the database would not be linked to patient purchases at medical marijuana centers, as some activists had feared.

Sloan says planning is ongoing and implementation would still be a way out even if the bill passes -- which is admittedly a long shot, according to McCann. After clearing the appropriations committee this morning, the bill was supposed to be read on the floor today. But this step has been pushed back, and McCann says a reading on Friday and passage through the Senate in the final three days of the session next week makes for a tight deadline.

Note*: This story incorrectly stated the amount to be transferred from the CDPHE to the MMED. It has been changed to show the correct amount, $7.7 million. An additional $2 million would be pulled from the CDPHE fund for youth violence and drug prevention programs.

To read the text of McCann's bill, click here.

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