A week before showdown on medical marijuana rules before Regs Review Committee, LCO issues criticism;Consumer Protection Dept reacts

 

The nonpartisan Legislative Commissioner’s Office this week issued a letter detailing reasons for the General Assembly’s Regulations Review Committee to delay action on the medical marijuana program. But Dpt of Consumer Protection Commissioner William Rubenstein quickly offered rewrites, to defuse the LCO criticism heading into the August 27 meeting, in which lawmakers will discussion adopting the new regs, including reclassifying marijuana from a Schedule I drug with no medical value, to a Schedule II drug.

Here is the release from Rubenstein:

“The Department of Consumer Protection is aware of the substantive concerns identified in a memorandum addressed to the Legislative Regulation Review Committee. Given the length and complexity of the proposed regulations, the Department is gratified to see that the concerns noted were of such a limited scope. The Department promptly addressed the concerns expressed and has re-submitted the regulations with substitute pages, confident that all substantive concerns have been met. With this resubmission of the regulations, the Legislative Commissioners’ office is now undertaking a new review of the regulations and will produce a new memorandum with recommendations.

The Department’s changes and accompanying cover letter are currently posted on the website of the Legislative Regulation Review Committee and are available for the public to review (via the “Substitute Pages” link at the bottom).

 

http://www.cga.ct.gov/aspx/CGARegulations/CGARegulations.aspx?Yr=2013&Reg=2013-024&Amd

 

The changes are also posted on the Department’s website on the Medical Marijuana  page.”