Colorado health board backs off medical marijuana rule

DENVER - The battle over the legality of medical marijuana right now in Colorado appears to hinge on the word "caregiver."

On Tuesday, the Colorado Board of Health decided its previous definition of the word might have gone too far. In a unanimous decision it decided to temporarily throw out its summertime decision that was widely cheered by the medical marijuana community.

The July decision had allowed anyone who provided medical marijuana to a patient to be labeled a "caregiver."

Last week, the Colorado Court of Appeals issued a ruling that the Board of Health members felt cast serious doubt on their earlier vote.

"This is an unprecedented situation," Jim Martin, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health, said. "The conflict is clear and unavoidable," he told the Board of Health inside a packed room filled with advocates for medical marijuana.

Minutes later, the board decided to scrap its definition until it can hold a more formal meeting on the matter in December.

"This is bull---," one person could be heard saying as others simply walked out of the room.

Last week, the Colorado Court of Appeals upheld the conviction of a Longmont woman who had been charged with illegally cultivating marijuana in her home. The defendant had insisted she was growing for a number of patients on the state's registry. In its decision, the court suggested that a medical marijuana provider needed to have a more personal contact with his or her patients in order to qualify under Colorado's medical marijuana law.

"The opinion says you better know who your patients are. If I were [the dispensary owners] I would not dismiss this," Colorado Attorney John Suthers said on Tuesday.

Suthers has long said that the state's medical marijuana law is being used to supply people who aren't necessarily sick to qualify for "legal" marijuana.

"The ambiguities in the law have led to a situation where unfortunately there are a lot of people gaming the system," he said.

Medical marijuana is clearly a burgeoning industry in the state right now. In 2007, less than 2,000 people were on the registry. In July, the Department of Public Health said more than 13,000 were on the registry.

Robert Corry, an attorney who has been a long-time advocate of medical marijuana issues, was visibly upset after the Board of Health decision.

"I think we are going to be exploring our legal options," he said. "They just messed it up. They just royally screwed it up and they made it a lot worse than the way it was before."

Edward Bruder has been on the state registry for years for pain issues.

"The relief you get by having access to medicine that is going to help you when you have tried everything else is immense," he said.

It's not entirely clear what the decision will mean for owners of the many dispensaries that have been popping up all over the state. Technically, the decision for the time-being takes away the one provision that many had believed provided them with security.

In the meantime, people like Suthers believe the Colorado State Legislature will have no other choice but to take the measure up early next year.

"Something has to happen," he said Tuesday.