The Cannabis Therapy Institute has submitted a Petition for
Emergency Rules to Protect Patient Privacy to the Colorado Board of Health
asking them to take immediate steps to ensure the security of the state’s
Confidential Medical Marijuana Registry. Click here to read entire
petition:
https://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/legal/rules/boh/
The Board of Health will be having a public hearing on Wed., Jan. 19, 2011.
CTI is asking citizens concerned about patient privacy to write letters of
support to the Board of Health and to attend the hearing. See below.
The CTI proposed emergency rules create procedures and safeguards for
securing the confidentiality of the Registry as required by the Colorado
Constitution and ensuring that no medical marijuana patient information is
shared with anyone outside the Colorado Department of Public Health and
Environment or is compromised in any way.
CTI’s petition for emergency rules comes as a result of plans by the CDPHE
to allow the Colorado Department of Revenue to “replace” the current CDPHE
Confidential Registry with a non-confidential database and surveillance
system run by the DoR and accessible to law enforcement and other state
agencies on demand. Click here to watch a video describing the new
database:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuYn9C_BbjM
CTI’s emergency rules are necessary to determine whether or not the
Department of Revenue’s Medical Marijuana Law Enforcement Division or any
other outside entity has already gained access to the CDPHE Confidential
Registry. In addition, these emergency rules allow the State of Colorado to
comply with the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s protection
against self-incrimination. Marijuana possession and cultivation are still
illegal under federal law. The CDPHE is therefore required to maintain a
strictly confidential Registry in order to protect the Fifth Amendment
right of patients not to incriminate themselves in federal crimes.
CTI’s proposed emergency rules prohibit the CDPHE from sharing the CDPHE
Confidential Registry with any outside agencies. The proposed rules also
require the CDPHE to keep track of who accessed the Registry and why. The
proposed rules require that the Registry be kept on a single computer that
is not connected to any internal or external network. The rules contain
other physical and procedural methods to ensure confidentiality.
Only CDPHE “key employees” will be able to access the Registry. The
proposed CTI rules for who can be appointed as a “key employee” are based
on the requirements for Medical Marijuana Center Applicants. CTI’s proposed
rule states, “In order to be appointed a key employee, the CDPHE worker
must have been a resident of Colorado for the past two years, must not have
not have been convicted of a felony in the past 5 years, must have a
current Public Official Surety Bond in the amount of $5,000 or more, and
must maintain a current set of fingerprints on file with the Colorado
Bureau of Investigation.”
CTI’s proposed emergency rules also require the filing of “Incident
Reports” any time the Registry is accessed or breached in any way and a
quarterly “Registry Security Status Report” to report on the overall
security of the Registry and any past outside accesses. This will allow the
public to know if the information in the Registry has already been
compromised in any way.
The Original Action Petition to the Supreme Court filed by the
Patient and Caregiver Rights Litigation Project was attached to the Board
of Health petition as supporting documentation and case law on patient
privacy issues. Click here to view PCRLP petition:
https://www.CannabisLawsuits.com/
The Board of Health can decide to adopt these emergency rules at their
hearing on Jan. 19, 2011 or they can deny the emergency nature of the rules
and set the issue for a formal rulemaking hearing. The public is invited to
attend the Jan. 19 hearing and give supporting comments.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1) Send Letter of Support to Board of Health
Ask them to support CTI’s emergency rule request and immediately implement
security regulations that will guarantee the confidentiality of the state
Medical Marijuana Registry.
Colorado Board of Health Emails:
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected], [email protected],
[email protected], [email protected],
[email protected]
2) Attend Public Hearing
Board of Health Hearing
Wed., Jan. 19, 2011
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Location: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Sabin-Cleere Conference Room
Bldg. A, 1st Floor
4300 Cherry Creek Drive, South
Denver, CO 80246
Other Medical Marijuana Items on the Agenda Include:
– Public Rulemaking Hearing on the Establishing Petition Process for Adding
Debilitating Medical Conditions (continued from Oct. 20 BOH meeting)
– Request for Rulemaking Hearing on restrictions on physicians who can
recommend medical marijuana.
Click here for complete details and agenda:
https://www.cdphe.state.co.us/op/bh/index.html
3) Donate to CTI or become a CTI Sponsor
To help us continue in the important work of protecting patient rights.
https://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/donate.html
4) Share this link:
https://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/legal/rules/boh/
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Click here to see the full emergency rules petition and list of Board of
Health members:
https://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com/legal/rules/boh/
—
Provided as a Public Service by the:
Cannabis Therapy Institute
P.O. Box 19084
Boulder, CO 80308
Phone: 877-420-4205
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://www.cannabistherapyinstitute.com
