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Medicinal Cannabis Association welcomes Puerto Rico Senate investigation

By on January 24, 2018

SAN JUAN – After this week the president of Puerto Rico’s Senate, Thomas Rivera Schatz, presented a resolution ordering the Federal, Political and Economic Relations Committee to investigate the structure of application, implementation and operation of the medicinal cannabis law on the island, the Puerto Rican Medicinal Cannabis Association (PRMCA) welcomed it, reiterating its commitment to foster an industry in full compliance with regulatory law.

“The PRMCA has been consistent in stating that the medicinal law gives structure to the industry and allows it to develop in a coherent and organized manner. Therefore, our message to all entities and companies that work with medicinal cannabis has always been that it is essential to comply with the legal provisions that govern the industry. We welcome the proposal of the Senate to investigate to detect if there has been any particular case in which the law has been infringed,” said Ingrid Schmidt, president of the organization.

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“All patient recruitment efforts that we promote comply with the requirements established by law and are endorsed by the Department of Health. However, we are more than willing to collaborate with any effort that helps ensure the proper functioning of the industry and the services offered. In this way we can continue to help thousands of patients whose lives have changed now that they can include medicinal cannabis in their treatment,” she added.

However, the language contained in Senate Resolution 583, the PRMCA believes, points to changes contemplated for Regulation 8766, which regulates the use of medical cannabis in Puerto Rico.

“The scheme under which this industry was regulated [that of medicinal cannabis], the Executive Order and Regulation 8766, was not adequate to regulate a novel industry of this type in our jurisdiction. Therefore, it was our obligation and commitment to address the issue and establish the specific parameters and controls necessary to responsibly incorporate the use of cannabis in medical treatment,” reads the Statement of Motives of Senate Resolution 583 in reference to the executive order signed by former Gov. Alejandro García Padilla in 2015.

Both Rivera Schatz and members of the New Progressive Party majority in the House and Senate have expressed reservations about the dispensing of the cannabis flower to patients who meet the 14 conditions identified in Regulation 8766 as suitable for treatment with medicinal cannabis.

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