Guam Legislators Approve Measures to Speed up Medical Cannabis Access
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]L[/dropcap]awmakers in Guam voted on several pieces of legislation last week that provide means to get the cannabis program in the U.S. territory going and into the hands of medical cannabis patients quicker.
The senators voted for legislation that would waive parts of the medical cannabis program requirements to get the process shortened and cannabis product made available to patients that have been waiting four years. The bill would allow the governor of Guam to issue an executive order waiving dispensary or lab requirements with a 90-day window where lawmakers could accept or reject it.
“I just don’t believe we’re doing any justice for our people who voted to get this program up and running,” said Sen. Dennis Rodriguez, Jr.. “We’re not doing them any justice if we have to wait any longer.” Rodriguez referred to the bill as a “last resort in an attempt to get this program off the ground and moving forward.”
Other approved legislation allows patients to grow their own medical cannabis until regulated dispensaries are available. It also increased the number of plants allowed to six flowering cannabis plants and 12 juvenile plants per patient. They also passed an amendment that allowed caregivers to grow cannabis for multiple patients.
Guam legalized medical cannabis in 2014, the first American territory to do so. In 2016, Gov. Eddie Calvo vetoed the legislation that would have allowed patients to grow in their homes.
Now the legislation will be on Calvo’s desk for approval. Last year, Calvo dropped support for a bill legalizing recreational cannabis last year fearing backlash from the Trump administration.
“We’ve been waiting years for the patients to receive care, to receive this type of medicine. But we must not do it at the chance of putting our patients at risk by saying they can waive anything under the sun,” said Sen. Telena Nelson.
“I asked the sponsor what is the biggest hangup with the lab? Maybe we can find a way to adjust the bill to get the biggest challenge of the lab and waive that piece,” Nelson said. “From what I know . . . the biggest challenge of the lab is the investment.”
