A. After consultation with the advisory board, the department shall promulgate rules in accordance with the State Rules Act [Chapter 14, Article 4 NMSA 1978] to implement the purpose of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act. The rules shall:

(1) govern the manner in which the department will consider applications for registry identification cards and for the renewal of identification cards for qualified patients and primary caregivers;

(2) define the amount of cannabis that is necessary to constitute an adequate supply, including amounts for topical treatments;

(3) identify criteria and set forth procedures for including additional medical conditions, medical treatments or diseases to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for the medical use of cannabis. Procedures shall include a petition process and shall allow for public comment and public hearings before the advisory board;

(4) set forth additional medical conditions, medical treatments or diseases to the list of debilitating medical conditions that qualify for the medical use of cannabis as recommended by the advisory board;

(5) identify requirements for the licensure of cannabis producers and cannabis production facilities, cannabis couriers, cannabis manufacturers, cannabis testing facilities and any other cannabis establishments that the department may license and set forth procedures to obtain licenses;

(6) develop a distribution system for the medical cannabis program that provides for:

(a) cannabis production facilities within New Mexico housed on secured grounds and operated by licensees; and

(b) distribution of cannabis to qualified patients or their primary caregivers to take place at locations that are designated by the department and that are not within three hundred feet of any school, church or daycare center that were in existence in that location before the licensee distributing medical cannabis nearby was licensed; provided that this distance requirement shall not apply to distribution at the home of the qualified patient or primary caregiver;

(7) identify requirements for testing and labeling of cannabis and cannabis products for quality assurance. The department shall adopt and promulgate rules pursuant to this paragraph by December 20, 2019;

(8) determine additional duties and responsibilities of the advisory board; and

(9) be revised and updated as necessary.

B. The department shall issue registry identification cards to a patient and to the primary caregiver for that patient, if any, who submit the following, in accordance with the department's rules:

(1) a written certification;

(2) the name, address and date of birth of the patient;

(3) the name, address and telephone number of the patient's practitioner; and

(4) the name, address and date of birth of the patient's primary caregiver, if any.

C. The department shall verify the information contained in an application submitted pursuant to Subsection B of this section and shall approve or deny an application within thirty days of receipt. The department may deny an application only if the applicant did not provide the information required pursuant to Subsection B of this section or if the department determines that the information provided is false. A person whose application has been denied shall not reapply for six months from the date of the denial unless otherwise authorized by the department.

D. The department shall issue a registry identification card within five days of approving an application, and a card shall expire three years after the date of issuance.

E. A registry identification card shall contain:

(1) the name and date of birth of the qualified patient and primary caregiver, if any;

(2) the date of issuance and expiration date of the registry identification card; and

(3) other information that the department may require by rule.

F. A person who possesses a registry identification card shall notify the department of any change in the person's name, qualified patient's practitioner, qualified patient's primary caregiver or change in status of the qualified patient's debilitating medical condition within ten days of the change.

G. Possession of or application for a registry identification card shall not constitute probable cause or give rise to reasonable suspicion for a governmental agency to search the person or property of the person possessing or applying for the card.

H. The department shall maintain a confidential file containing the names and addresses of the persons who have either applied for or received a registry identification card. Individual names on the list shall be confidential and not subject to disclosure, except:

(1) to authorized employees or agents of the department as necessary to perform the duties of the department pursuant to the provisions of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act;

(2) to authorized employees of state or local law enforcement agencies, but only for the purpose of verifying that a person is lawfully in possession of a registry identification card; or

(3) as provided in the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

I. By March 1, 2020, the secretary of health shall adopt and promulgate rules relating to medical cannabis program reciprocity. The department may identify requirements for the granting of reciprocity, including provisions limiting the period of time in which a reciprocal participant may participate in the medical cannabis program.

J. A reciprocal participant:

(1) may participate in the medical cannabis program in accordance with department rules;

(2) shall not be required to comply with the registry identification card application and renewal requirements established pursuant to this section and department rules;

(3) shall at all times possess proof of authorization to participate in the medical cannabis program of another state, the District of Columbia, a territory or commonwealth of the United States or a New Mexico Indian nation, tribe or pueblo and shall present proof of that authorization when purchasing cannabis from a licensee; and

(4) shall register with a licensee for the purpose of tracking sales to the reciprocal participant in an electronic system that is accessible to the department.

History: Laws 2007, ch. 210, § 7; 2019, ch. 247, § 7.

Cross references. — For the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, see 42 U.S.C. § 300gg et seq.

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, provided additional duties for the department of health; in the section heading, added "reciprocity"; in Subsection A, in the introductory paragraph, deleted "No later than October 1, 2007, and", in Paragraph A(5), after "licensure of", added "cannabis", and after "production facilities", added "cannabis couriers, cannabis manufacturers, cannabis testing facilities and any other cannabis establishments that the department may license", in Paragraph A(6), after "medical cannabis", added "program", in Subparagraph A(6)(b), after "daycare center", added "that were in existence in that location before the licensee distributing medical cannabis nearby was licensed; provided that this distance requirement shall not apply to distribution at the home of the qualified patient or primary caregiver", added a new Paragraph A(7) and redesignated former Paragraphs A(7) and A(8) as Paragraphs A(8) and A(9), respectively; in Subsection D, after "shall expire", deleted "one year" and added "three years"; added new subsection designation "E." and redesignated former Subsections E through G as Subsections F through H, respectively; and added Subsections I and J.