Iowa Agency asked to halt part of medical pot law

Posted by Sagar Satapathy on September 11, 2017.

An Iowa agency which works with another state for transporting medical cannabis has been asked to not implement a small section in the Iowa’s new medical pot law. The decision has been taken amid legal concerns that it could invite scrutiny from the federal government.

The Iowa Department of Public Health has been advised by the Iowa Attorney General’s office to not implement a small section of the State’s new medical marijuana law which requires the state to license up to two ‘out of state' dispensaries. The provision is mentioned in the second last page of the 20-page law.

Those entities would have been expected to bring cannabis oil into Iowa for selling, which is considered illegal under federal law. The Federal Law classifies cannabis as a controlled substance and is hence prohibited from being transported across states.

The Attorney General’s office has asked to put on hold the implementation until the Federal Government provides further guidance.

Though the decision is unlikely to affect other provisions in the law which call for the establishment of an in-state production system of cannabis by the end of 2018, a few law makers have expressed dissatisfaction as the immediate access has been affected.

Under the Federal Law, possessing, manufacturing and selling pot is illegal. While smoking marijuana is prohibited in Iowa, the cannabis oil supply would be supplied in the state by the end of 2018.

The out-of-state dispensaries provision is tucked into the second-to-last page of a 20-page law, and is separate from requirements that Iowa license up to two cannabis oil manufacturers in Iowa and up to five dispensaries to sell it in-state. The oil would be supplied in Iowa by the end of 2018. Smoking marijuana remains prohibited.

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