Pennsylvania Department of Health Finalizes Regulations for Physicians and Practitioners

The Pennsylvania Department of Health, just released the final Physicians and Practitioners Temporary Regulations.   Back in April, I wrote about the regulations that were available for physician comments. The final temporary regulations will remain in place for 2 years and outline the necessary process in which licensed physicians can register as a practitioner in order to certify that a patient has one of 16 serious medical conditions[1] and offer his or her recommendations on a course of treatment through the use of medical marijuana.

The regulations also permit the registration of physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants and certified registered nurse practitioners to be employed by licensed dispensaries.

A Practitioner is not permitted to advertise that he or she is a practitioner who can certify a patient to receive medical marijuana.  Registered practitioners will be listed in a registry which will be maintained and made accessible through a public website controlled by the Department of Health.

For more information, contact a member of our Medical Marijuana Practice Group for updates on Pennsylvania and Federal legislation affecting the Pennsylvania medical marijuana industry.

[1] Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS),  Autism, Cancer, Crohn’s Disease, Damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication of intractable spasticity, Epilepsy, Glaucoma, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) / AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), Huntington’s Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Intractable Seizures, Multiple Sclerosis, Neuropathies, Parkinson’s Disease, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, Severe chronic or intractable pain of neuropathic origin or severe chronic or intractable pain in which conventional therapeutic intervention and opiate therapy is contraindicated or ineffective, Sickle Cell Anemia.