An Overview of Iowas Medical Cannabidiol Act

The Iowa Legislature passed, and Gov. Terry Branstad signed, a bill giving a limited class of individuals with intractable epilepsy and their caregivers an affirmative and complete defense to any state criminal charges arising out of their use or possession of cannabidiol. The new law1 prohibits in-state production or access to cannabidol, meaning qualifying patients can only legally obtain their medicine from out of state. Because the law only applies to a very specific type of marijuana and fails to provide in-state access, MPP does not consider Iowa a medical marijuana state. What type of marijuana does the law apply to? The law protects certain patients from penalties for using cannabidiol, which is defined as a nonpsychoactive cannabinoid in the plant Cannabis sativa L. or Cannabis indica or any other preparation thereof that is essentially free from plant material, and has a tetrahydrocannabinol level of no more than three percent. Who qualifies for this limited program? Permanent residents of Iowa with intractable epilepsy that has not been responsive to other treatment options if their neurologists believe that no other satisfactory alternative treatment options exist for the patients. Can minors with intractable epilepsy use cannabidiol under this law? Yes. Do qualifying patients need to obtain an ID card? Yes, in order to be allowed to raise a medical necessity defense against any prosecution for using or possessing cannabidol, a qualifying patient must have an ID card if he or she is over 18. If the qualifying patient is under 18, his or her legal guardian must be in possession of a caregiver card in order to use the affirmative defense. Who will produce the cannabidiol? The new law does not allow for the in-state production or manufacture of cannabidiol or extracts. Qualifying patients would have to travel to a medical marijuana state to obtain their medicine and then bring it back to Iowa with them. Can qualified patients grow their own non-psychoactive strains of marijuana for purposes of obtaining cannabidiol? No. When did this law take effect? The new law takes effect on July 1, 2014. 1 Available online at: http://coolice.legis.iowa.gov/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=BillInfo&Service=Billbook&ga=85&hbill=SF2360