Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. The
department shall issue a registry identification card to an applicant for the
purpose of participating in the medical cannabis program upon the written
certification of the applicant's practitioner and supporting application
documents. Certifications from certifying providers must be obtained within 90
calendar days prior to the expiration of the patient's registry identification
card.
B. The department may require
the submittal of a recent photograph from a patient applicant and primary
caregiver applicant.
C. The
following information shall be provided in (or as an attachment to) the
participant enrollment form submitted to the department in order for a registry
identification card to be obtained and processed. An attached original medical
provider certification for patient eligibility form shall contain:
(1) the name, address, and telephone number
of the practitioner;
(2) the
practitioner's clinical licensure;
(3) the patient applicant's name and date of
birth;
(4) the medical
justification for the practitioner's certification of the patient's
debilitating medical condition, which shall include but not be limited to a
statement that, in the practitioner's professional opinion, the practitioner
believes that the potential health benefits of the medical use of cannabis
would likely outweigh health risks for the patient;
(5) an attestation that the practitioner's
primary place of practice is located within the state of New Mexico;
(6) the practitioner's signature and the
date;
(7) the name, address, and
date of birth of the applicant;
(8)
the name, address, and telephone number of the applicant's
practitioner;
(9) a legible
photocopy of the applicant's New Mexico driver's license or comparable state of
New Mexico issued photo identification card verifying New Mexico
residence;
(10) documented parental
consent, if applicable, to the applicant;
(11) the applicant's debilitating medical
condition;
(12) the length of time
the applicant has been under the care of the practitioner providing the medical
provider certification for patient eligibility;
(13) the applicant's signature and date;
and
(14) a signed consent for
release of medical information related to the patient's debilitating medical
condition, on a form provided by the medical cannabis program.
D.
Qualified minor:
The department shall issue a registry identification card to an applicant under
the age of 18 for the purpose of participating in the medical cannabis program
upon the medical provider certification for patient eligibility from the
applicant's practitioner and supporting application documents required under
this rule. The qualified minor parental consent form shall require the
following information to be provided:
(1)
written documentation that the applicant's practitioner has explained the
potential risks and benefits of the use of cannabis to both the applicant and
parent or representative of the applicant; and
(2) written consent of the applicant's parent
or legal representative to:
(a) allow the
applicant's use of cannabis and cannabis-derived products;
(b) serve as the applicant's primary
caregiver; and
(c) control the
acquisition of the cannabis, dosage, and the frequency of the use of cannabis
and cannabis-derived products by the applicant.
E.
Primary caregiver: The
department shall issue a registry identification card to a primary caregiver
applicant for the purpose of managing the well-being of up to four qualified
patients pursuant to the requirements of this rule upon the completion and
approval of the primary caregiver application form available from the medical
cannabis program. In order for a registry identification card to be obtained
and processed, the following information shall be submitted to the medical
cannabis program:
(1) New Mexico driver's
license or comparable state of New Mexico issued photo identification card
verifying that the applicant is at least 18 years of age and is a resident of
New Mexico;
(2) written approval by
each qualified patient, and written approval by at least one certifying
practitioner for each qualified patient, authorizing the primary caregiver's
responsibility for managing the well-being of the patient(s) with respect to
the medical use of cannabis;
(3)
the name(s), address(es), telephone number(s), and date of birth(s) of the
qualified patient(s);
(4) the name,
address, and telephone number of each qualified patient's
practitioner;
(5) the name,
address, and telephone number of the applicant primary caregiver;
(6) an attestation from the primary caregiver
applicant that he or she is a resident of the state of New Mexico;
and
(7) the applicant primary
caregiver's signature and the date.
F.
Primary caregiver
requirements:
(1) A primary caregiver
applicant shall be a resident of New Mexico.
(2) A qualified patient's primary caregiver
shall be permitted to obtain and transport medical cannabis from a licensed
nonprofit to the qualified patient.
(3) The primary caregiver of a qualified
patient who holds a personal production license may assist the qualified
patient to produce medical cannabis at the designated licensed location,
identified on the personal production license.
(4) A qualified patient shall only reimburse
their primary caregiver for the cost of travel, supplies, or utilities
associated with the possession of medical cannabis, or cannabis-derived
products by the primary caregiver for the qualified patient. No other cost
associated with the possession of medical cannabis, or cannabis-derived
products by the primary caregiver for the qualified patient, including the cost
of labor, shall be reimbursed or paid. All medical cannabis or cannabis-derived
products possessed by a primary caregiver for a qualified patient are the
property of the qualified patient.
(5) A qualified patient shall notify the
medical cannabis program in the event that the qualified patient ceases to
retain the services of a primary caregiver. A primary caregiver shall promptly
disenroll from the medical cannabis program at the time that the primary
caregiver's services are no longer used by a qualified patient in their
care.
G.
Certifying
practitioner requirements:
(1) A
patient may not be certified by a practitioner who is related to the patient
within the second degree of consanguinity or the first degree of affinity,
including a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, step-parent, sibling,
grandparent, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in law, or daughter-in-law of
the patient.
(2) A practitioner's
primary place of practice must be located within the state of New Mexico in
order for the practitioner to certify a patient's eligibility.
(3) In order to certify a patient's
application, a practitioner must have an actual physician-client relationship
with the applicant or qualified patient. A practitioner shall conduct an
in-person physical or mental evaluation of the applicant or qualified patient
prior to issuing a certification. A practitioner may only issue a written
certification on the basis of an evaluation conducted via telemedicine if the
practitioner has previously examined the patient in person.
(4) A practitioner may be prohibited from
certifying patient applications for:
(a)
failure to comply with any provision of this rule;
(b) falsification of any material or
information submitted to the department;
(c) threatening or harming an employee of a
producer, a medical practitioner, a patient, or an employee of the department;
or
(d) any determination by the
practitioner's licensing body that practitioner has engaged in unprofessional
or dishonorable conduct.
H.
Continuing education of certifying
practitioners: The department encourages certifying practitioners to
obtain at least two continuing medical education credit hours annually related
to the medicinal use of cannabis.
