Tag: Medical Cannabis

Legislators Discuss Cannabis In The Workplace

West Virginia law protects employees from being fired for using medical cannabis products, but employers can still prohibit employees from being under the influence at work.

Legislators heard a presentation on cannabis and the workplace during Tuesdays’ interim meetings in Morgantown.

West Virginia law protects employees from being fired for using medical cannabis products, but employers can still prohibit employees from being under the influence at work.

The West Virginia Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on the Judiciary heard from two experts on the challenges of testing for cannabis impairment.

Employment lawyer Nancy Delogu explained that while blood, urine, and saliva analysis can provide evidence of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, in a person’s system, there is no true test for impairment as THC affects each individual differently.

“There’s not a test for an impairment, there has never been a test for impairment,” she said. “We don’t have a test for alcohol impairment, we have a breathalyzer. It measures the amount of alcohol in one’s blood.”

Delogu pointed out that breathalyzers have 75 years of federal highway safety data to back up correlations between blood alcohol levels and the likelihood of driving impairment.

THC also lingers in the body longer than most other substances. A traditional urine analysis could produce a positive result up to a month after cannabis use, making it functionally useless as a test for on the job impairment.

Aaron Lopez of the lobbying firm Political Capital explained that West Virginia has defined impairment as the presence of more than 3 nanograms of cannabis metabolites, byproducts of the body’s metabolism, in a blood test. He said that is a stronger definition than surrounding states, who fall closer to the national average of five or 10 nanograms.

“The blood test is much more accurate but trying to figure out where the blood level correlates with impairment is still something that is being tested around the country,” Lopez said.

While accurate, blood tests take time and require the presence of a trained phlebotomist. Lopez and Delogu both pointed towards saliva or oral fluid testing as the likely future for employers concerned about cannabis-impared employees.

The discussion comes just one month after a miner’s suspension for the use of a CBD product was upheld by the state supreme court.

“Even in the footnotes of Justice Armstead, he noted that we have to deal with this,” Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, said. “We have to figure out a way to deal with this in the workplace.”

Medical Cannabis Registration Events Coming Up In W.Va.

The West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis is holding registration events in several cities in the coming days.

The public events for medical cannabis patients will be held Wednesday in Morgantown at Fairfield Inn and Suites, Thursday in Weston at Hampton Inn and Dec. 7 in Princeton at Country Inn & Suites. Each registration will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Patients can schedule appointments by calling (304) 356-5090. Further information is available online.

In addition to the registration events, eligible residents can register for a medical cannabis patient card at www.medcanwv.org.

West Virginia’s first medical cannabis dispensaries opened this month, more than four years after state lawmakers allowed a regulatory system for those products to be established.

West Virginia Opens Training For Medical Cannabis Owners, Employees

Those working in West Virginia’s medical cannabis industry will need to undergo two hours of online training. The training is the latest step toward getting the state’s years-delayed program operational.

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources’ Office of Medical Cannabis announced Tuesday that the online training is now available.

All owners and employees engaged in the growing, processing or distribution of medical cannabis must complete the two-hour online course approved by the office.

“Industry training is an essential step in making medical cannabis products available to West Virginians with serious medical conditions,” said Jason Frame, director of the Office of Medical Cannabis, in a news release. “We continue to work toward the goal of providing eligible state residents with the ability to safely access medical cannabis as quickly as possible.”

Course participants will be educated regarding West Virginia medical cannabis law, rules and policies, as well as a variety of other subjects related to the industry. Successful completion requires participants to pass each training section with a rate of 80 percent.

The training is being offered by Green Flower, a Ventura, California-based company. The cost is $147 per employee.

The state’s medical cannabis law was passed in 2017, but has suffered some delays due to existing federal law. It allows for residents with qualifying medical conditions to make use of some non-smokable forms of the drug.

W.Va. To Accept Medical Marijuana Lab Permits Indefinitely

Efforts to provide qualifying West Virginians with medical cannabis are underway with new developments, three years after the Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law. 

The West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis is accepting permit applications for medical cannabis labs after previously closing this process on Feb. 18.            

Medical cannabis processors, dispensaries, growers and labs had two months to submit applications, but according to the Office of Cannabis, only one lab applied for a permit during that period: Microbac Laboratories in Charleston. 

The office will accept applications indefinitely, and there will not be a limit on the number of lab permits, according to a press release.

“This is a key step in the process to make medical cannabis available to West Virginians with serious medical conditions,” said Jason Frame, director of the Office of Medical Cannabis.

Labs are where marijuana is tested for quality control and potency, a vital part of distributing medical marijuana, according to the Association of Public Health Laboratories. 

West Virginia’s Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law in April 2017, with the goal of distributing within two years. State Department of Health and Human Resources Secretary Bill Crouch estimates the program will be fully operational by spring 2021.

West Virginia physicians were permitted on May 28 to begin the registration process to treat patients within the state who require medical marijuana.

The Office of Medical Cannabis has not yet released the number of physicians who have since applied. Physicians are required to complete the ‘West Virginia Medical Cannabis Program,’ which is $189.

W.Va. Medical Marijuana Program Opens To Physician Registration

Starting Thursday, May 28, West Virginia will be one step closer to administering medical marijuana to qualifying residents.

For the first time, West Virginia physicians will be permitted to begin the registration process to treat patients within the state who require medical marijuana.

This comes three years after the Medical Cannabis Act was signed into state law, creating the Office of Medical Cannabis. During a two-month period that ended earlier this year, 285 medical marijuana dispensaries, growers, processors and laboratories submitted permits to the state.  

The physician registration process will be exclusively online, according to a Department of Health and Human Resources press release. It will also include a mandatory four-hour education course.

According to the DHHR, the physician registration process does not mean that qualifying West Virginia patients will be able to obtain medical marijuana immediately. But DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch said he estimates the state’s medical cannabis program will be fully operational by Spring 2021. 

West Virginia Treasurer Receives 4 Rebids on Cannabis Banking Solution

West Virginia’s medical cannabis industry may have a prospective banking solution to get around federal law. But exactly when that solution might be implemented is still up in the air.

A spokeswoman for the state Treasurer’s office says in an email they received four bids from businesses looking to handle deposits associated with West Virginia’s as-of-yet launched medical cannabis program.

Element Federal Credit Union, MVB Bank, DMTLP and JP Morgan Chase all submitted their proposals ahead of Wednesday’s deadline. 

JP Morgan Chase is a multinational bank headquartered in New York City, MVB Bank is based in Fairmont, West Virginia and Element Federal Credit Union is in Charleston, West Virginia. According to a business registration with the Secretary of State’s office, a company named Delivering Marijuana Teaming Logistic Placement LLC (DMTLP) was established in March 2016 in Glenville, West Virginia.

The Treasurer’s office says evaluations of all four proposals are now underway but they can’t release additional information until a contract is awarded. There is no timeline for the contract to be completed.

The Treasurer’s office canceled the initial bidding process in June and then re-issued a request for proposals after all five of the original offers failed to meet all the requirements. 

All four of the businesses that submitted the new bids had made offers under the original request for proposals.

The state Department of Health and Human Resources says — once a banking solution is in place — it will be another two years before the first sale of medical cannabis.

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