Assembly Bill No. 130–Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Mining
CHAPTER..........
AN ACT relating to the State Department of Agriculture; authorizing the Director of the State Department of Agriculture and the Department to impose and collect certain fees; making various changes to the program of medical marijuana administered by the Department; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 561.153 is hereby amended to read as follows:
561.153 The Director may by regulation [adopt] :
1. Prescribe, in addition to any other fees prescribed by the
Director pursuant to titles 49, 50 and 51 of NRS, a fee to cover the
costs incurred by the Department for any service, product or
publication provided by the Department pursuant to titles 49, 50
and 51 of NRS or the regulations adopted pursuant thereto; and
2. Adopt such procedures as he may deem appropriate for the
billing or collection of such fees . [for any service or any
publication or other product provided by the Department under
Titles 49, 50 and 51 of NRS for which fees are collectible.]
Sec. 2. NRS 564.080 is hereby amended to read as follows:
564.080 Except as otherwise provided in NRS 564.010 to
564.150, inclusive, the Department may establish and collect
reasonable fees for:
1. The recording of brands or brands and marks;
2. The rerecording of brands or brands and marks;
3. The recording of instruments transferring ownership of
brands or brands and marks; [or]
4. Certificates of recordation or rerecordation of brands or
brands and marks[.] ; or
5. The processing and continuing administration of a security
agreement, provisional assignment or legal lien relating to a brand
or brand and mark or marks of record for purposes of
NRS 564.110.
Sec. 3. NRS 453A.030 is hereby amended to read as follows:
453A.030 “Attending physician” means a physician who:
1. Is licensed to practice [medicine] :
(a) Medicine pursuant to the provisions of chapter 630 of NRS;
or
(b) Osteopathic medicine pursuant to the provisions of chapter
633 of NRS; and
2. Has [primary] responsibility for the care and treatment of a
person diagnosed with a chronic or debilitating medical condition.
Sec. 4. NRS 453A.160 is hereby amended to read as follows:
453A.160 1. “Usable marijuana” means [the] :
(a) The dried leaves and flowers of a plant of the genus
Cannabis, and any mixture or preparation thereof, that are
appropriate for the medical use of marijuana[.] ; and
(b) The seeds of a plant of the genus Cannabis.
2. The term does not include the [seeds,] stalks and roots of the
plant.
Sec. 5. NRS 453A.210 is hereby amended to read as follows:
453A.210 1. The Department shall establish and maintain a
program for the issuance of registry identification cards to persons
who meet the requirements of this section.
2. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 5, the
Department or its designee shall issue a registry identification card
to a person who is a resident of this state and who submits an
application on a form prescribed by the Department accompanied by
the following:
(a) Valid, written documentation from the person’s attending
physician stating that:
(1) The person has been diagnosed with a chronic or
debilitating medical condition;
(2) The medical use of marijuana may mitigate the symptoms
or effects of that condition; and
(3) The attending physician has explained the possible risks
and benefits of the medical use of marijuana;
(b) The name, address, telephone number, social security
number and date of birth of the person;
(c) Proof satisfactory to the Department that the person is a
resident of this state;
(d) The name, address and telephone number of the person’s
attending physician; and
[(d)] (e) If the person elects to designate a primary caregiver at
the time of application:
(1) The name, address, telephone number and social security
number of the designated primary caregiver; and
(2) A written, signed statement from his attending physician
in which the attending physician approves of the designation of the
primary caregiver.
3. The Department or its designee shall issue a registry
identification card to a person who is under 18 years of age if:
(a) The person submits the materials required pursuant to
subsection 2; and
(b) The custodial parent or legal guardian with responsibility for
health care decisions for the person under 18 years of age signs a
written statement setting forth that:
(1) The attending physician of the person under 18 years of
age has explained to that person and to the custodial parent or legal
guardian with responsibility for health care decisions for the person
under 18 years of age the possible risks and benefits of the medical
use of marijuana;
(2) The custodial parent or legal guardian with responsibility
for health care decisions for the person under 18 years of age
consents to the use of marijuana by the person under 18 years of age
for medical purposes;
(3) The custodial parent or legal guardian with responsibility
for health care decisions for the person under 18 years of age agrees
to serve as the designated primary caregiver for the person under 18
years of age; and
(4) The custodial parent or legal guardian with responsibility
for health care decisions for the person under 18 years of age agrees
to control the acquisition of marijuana and the dosage and frequency
of use by the person under 18 years of age.
4. The form prescribed by the Department to be used by a
person applying for a registry identification card pursuant to this
section must be a form that is in quintuplicate. Upon receipt of an
application that is completed and submitted pursuant to this section,
the Department shall:
(a) Record on the application the date on which it was received;
(b) Retain one copy of the application for the records of the
Department; and
(c) Distribute the other four copies of the application in the
following manner:
(1) One copy to the person who submitted the application;
(2) One copy to the applicant’s designated primary caregiver,
if any;
(3) One copy to the Central Repository for Nevada Records
of Criminal History; and
(4) One copy to :
(I) If the attending physician of the applicant is licensed
to practice medicine pursuant to the provisions of chapter 630 of
NRS, the Board of Medical Examiners [.] ; or
(II) If the attending physician of the applicant is
licensed to practice osteopathic medicine pursuant to the
provisions of chapter 633 of NRS, the State Board of Osteopathic
Medicine.
The Central Repository for Nevada Records of Criminal History
shall report to the Department its findings as to the criminal history,
if any, of an applicant within 15 days after receiving a copy of an
application pursuant to subparagraph (3) of paragraph (c). The
Board of Medical Examiners or the State Board of Osteopathic
Medicine, as applicable, shall report to the Department its findings
as to the licensure and standing of the applicant’s attending
physician within 15 days after receiving a copy of an application
pursuant to subparagraph (4) of paragraph (c).
5. The Department shall verify the information contained in an
application submitted pursuant to this section and shall approve or
deny an application within 30 days after receiving the application.
The Department may contact an applicant, his attending physician
and designated primary caregiver, if any, by telephone to determine
that the information provided on or accompanying the application is
accurate. The Department may deny an application only on the
following grounds:
(a) The applicant failed to provide the information required
pursuant to subsections 2 and 3 to:
(1) Establish his chronic or debilitating medical condition; or
(2) Document his consultation with an attending physician
regarding the medical use of marijuana in connection with that
condition;
(b) The applicant failed to comply with regulations adopted by
the Department, including, without limitation, the regulations
adopted by the Director pursuant to NRS 453A.740;
(c) The Department determines that the information provided by
the applicant was falsified;
(d) The Department determines that the attending physician of
the applicant is not licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic
medicine in this state or is not in good standing, as reported by the
Board of Medical Examiners [;]or the State Board of Osteopathic
Medicine, as applicable;
(e) The Department determines that the applicant, or his
designated primary caregiver, if applicable, has been convicted of
knowingly or intentionally selling a controlled substance;
(f) The Department has prohibited the applicant from obtaining
or using a registry identification card pursuant to subsection 2 of
NRS 453A.300; or
(g) In the case of a person under 18 years of age, the custodial
parent or legal guardian with responsibility for health care decisions
for the person has not signed the written statement required pursuant
to paragraph (b) of subsection 3.
6. The decision of the Department to deny an application for a
registry identification card is a final decision for the purposes of
judicial review. Only the person whose application has been denied
or, in the case of a person under 18 years of age whose application
has been denied, the person’s parent or legal guardian, has standing
to contest the determination of the Department. A judicial review
authorized pursuant to this subsection must be limited to a
determination of whether the denial was arbitrary, capricious or
otherwise characterized by an abuse of discretion and must be
conducted in accordance with the procedures set forth in chapter
233B of NRS for reviewing a final decision of an agency.
7. A person whose application has been denied may not
reapply for 6 months after the date of the denial, unless the
Department or a court of competent jurisdiction authorizes
reapplication in a shorter time.
8. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if a person
has applied for a registry identification card pursuant to this section
and the Department has not yet approved or denied the application,
the person, and his designated primary caregiver, if any, shall be
deemed to hold a registry identification card upon the presentation
to a law enforcement officer of the copy of the application provided
to him pursuant to subsection 4. A person may not be deemed to
hold a registry identification card for a period of more than 30 days
after the date on which the Department received the application.
9. As used in this section, “resident” has the meaning
ascribed to it in NRS 483.141.
Sec. 6. NRS 453A.250 is hereby amended to read as follows:
453A.250 1. If a person who applies to the Department for a
registry identification card or to whom the Department or its
designee has issued a registry identification card pursuant to
paragraph (a) of subsection 1 of NRS 453A.220 desires to designate
a primary caregiver, the person must:
(a) To designate a primary caregiver at the time of application,
submit to the Department the information required pursuant to
paragraph [(d)] (e) of subsection 2 of NRS 453A.210; or
(b) To designate a primary caregiver after the Department or its
designee has issued a registry identification card to him, submit to
the Department the information required pursuant to subparagraph
(2) of paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 453A.230.
2. A person may have only one designated primary caregiver at
any one time.
3. If a person designates a primary caregiver after the time that
he initially applies for a registry identification card, the Department
or its designee shall, except as otherwise provided in subsection 5 of
NRS 453A.210, issue a registry identification card to the designated
primary caregiver as soon as practicable after receiving the
information submitted pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1.
Sec. 7. NRS 453A.500 is hereby amended to read as follows:
453A.500 The Board of Medical Examiners or the State Board
of Osteopathic Medicine, as applicable, shall not take any
disciplinary action against an attending physician on the basis that
the attending physician:
1. Advised a person whom the attending physician has
diagnosed as having a chronic or debilitating medical condition, or a
person whom the attending physician knows has been so diagnosed
by another physician licensed to practice medicine pursuant to the
provisions of chapter 630 of NRS [:]or licensed to practice
osteopathic medicine pursuant to the provisions of chapter 633 of
NRS:
(a) About the possible risks and benefits of the medical use of
marijuana; or
(b) That the medical use of marijuana may mitigate the
symptoms or effects of the person’s chronic or debilitating medical
condition,
if the advice is based on the attending physician’s personal
assessment of the person’s medical history and current medical
condition.
2. Provided the written documentation required pursuant to
paragraph (a) of subsection 2 of NRS 453A.210 for the issuance of a
registry identification card or pursuant to subparagraph (1) of
paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 453A.230 for the renewal of a
registry identification card, if:
(a) Such documentation is based on the attending physician’s
personal assessment of the person’s medical history and current
medical condition; and
(b) The physician has advised the person about the possible risks
and benefits of the medical use of marijuana.
Sec. 8. NRS 453A.740 is hereby amended to read as follows:
453A.740 The Director of the Department shall adopt such
regulations as the Director determines are necessary to carry out the
provisions of this chapter. The regulations must set forth, without
limitation:
1. Procedures pursuant to which the State Department of
Agriculture will, in cooperation with the Department of Motor
Vehicles, cause a registry identification card to be prepared and
issued to a qualified person as a type of identification card described
in NRS 483.810 to 483.890, inclusive. The procedures described in
this subsection must provide that the State Department of
Agriculture will:
(a) Issue a registry identification card to a qualified person after
the card has been prepared by the Department of Motor Vehicles; or
(b) Designate the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a
registry identification card to a person if:
(1) The person presents to the Department of Motor Vehicles
valid documentation issued by the State Department of Agriculture
indicating that the State Department of Agriculture has approved the
issuance of a registry identification card to the person; and
(2) The Department of Motor Vehicles, before issuing the
registry identification card, confirms by telephone or other reliable
means that the State Department of Agriculture has approved the
issuance of a registry identification card to the person.
2. Criteria for determining whether a marijuana plant is a
mature marijuana plant or an immature marijuana plant.
3. Fees for:
(a) Providing to an applicant an application for a registry
identification card, which fee must not exceed $50; and
(b) Processing and issuing a registry identification card, which
fee must not exceed $150.
Sec. 9. NRS 633.521 is hereby amended to read as follows:
633.521 An osteopathic physician is not subject to disciplinary
action solely for [prescribing] :
1. Prescribing or administering to a patient under his care:
[1.] (a) Amygdalin (laetrile), if the patient has consented to the
use of the substance.
[2.] (b) Procaine hydrochloride with preservatives and
stabilizers (Gerovital H3).
[3.] (c) A controlled substance which is listed in schedule II, III,
IV or V by the State Board of Pharmacy pursuant to NRS 453.146,
if the controlled substance is lawfully prescribed or administered for
the treatment of intractable pain in accordance with accepted
standards for the practice of osteopathic medicine.
2. Engaging in any activity in accordance with the provisions
of chapter 453A of NRS.
Sec. 10. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2003.
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