Medical-cannabis patient database protected as committee hears a patient plea
Summary
Committee retained exemption shielding the medical-cannabis patient database after a public commenter, a medical-cannabis patient, urged continued protections and warned of federal legal vulnerability. Chair noted the retaining agency is not covered by HIPAA.
The committee unanimously retained an exemption that keeps the medical-cannabis patient database—names and other identifying information—shielded from public disclosure. Acting Chair Roland Thompson said the agency that holds the database is not a HIPAA-covered medical provider and that the exemption exists to prevent disclosure of prescription-related records.
John Kingsbury, who identified himself as a medical-cannabis patient, urged the committee to preserve the privacy protections. "I would argue that it's also far more serious than that because of the status of patients like me, the legal status of patients like me, both at the state level and the federal government," Kingsbury said, and asked the committee to "continue those protections." The committee moved and recorded a voice vote retaining the exemption.
Chair Thompson noted that while the committee's remit is the exemption under review, broader federal issues affecting cannabis patients' legal status are beyond the group's authority. The vote was unanimous.
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