Rules Committee advances bill to formalize data sharing between cannabis card issuer and medical board

Senators on the Rules Committee voted to advance SB395, a bill that would create a formal communication pathway between the Department of Public Health, which issues medical cannabis cards, and the State Medical Board, which handles enforcement. Senator Kirkpatrick, who presented the bill, said the core problem is a ‘‘gap’’ in information exchange between the two agencies and that prior elements of the bill were already addressed in statute, leaving only the data‑sharing provision.

Kirkpatrick told the committee that the card application and production process sits with the Department of Public Health while enforcement jurisdiction lies with the medical board, ‘‘and currently, they don’t have a data sharing agreement, so they can’t share information,’’ creating the gap the bill aims to close. When a colleague asked why an earlier verification requirement – that the board confirm a physician has a doctor–patient relationship with the card recipient and treated them for a listed condition – had been removed from the draft, Kirkpatrick said that requirement already exists in the code and can be cited.

Committee members also discussed enforcement concerns raised by instances of out‑of‑state physicians issuing large numbers of cards; the chair summarized that the committee needs ‘‘more emphasis on the enforcement side of it.’’ After brief discussion, the chair moved that the bill ‘‘do pass,’’ the motion was seconded, and the committee carried the motion by voice vote. No roll‑call tally was recorded in the committee transcript.

The next procedural step is to place the bill on the Senate calendar for floor consideration.