Article 98, § 4 — Qualifying Patient -- Administration and Enforcement -- Rules

(a) (1) The Department of Health shall administer and enforce the provisions of this amendment concerning qualifying patients, qualifying medical conditions, and designated caregivers, including without limitation the issuance of a registry identification card to a qualifying patient and designated caregiver. (2) The department shall adopt rules necessary to: (A) Carry out the purposes of this amendment; and (B) Perform its duties under this amendment. (3) Rules adopted under this section are rules as defined in the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq. (4) (A) The Department of Health shall require each applicant for a designated caregiver registry identification card to apply for or authorize the Department of Health to obtain state and national criminal background checks to be conducted by the Identification Bureau of the Department of Arkansas State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (B) The criminal background checks shall conform to the applicable federal standards and shall include the taking of fingerprints. (C) The applicant shall authorize the release of the criminal background checks to the Department of Health and shall be responsible for the payment of any fee associated with the criminal background checks. (D) Upon completion of the criminal background checks, the Identification Bureau of the Department of Arkansas State Police shall forward to the Department of Health all information obtained concerning the applicant. (b) Not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of this amendment, the department shall adopt rules governing: (1) The manner in which the department considers applications for and renewals of registry identification cards; (2) Labeling and testing standards for marijuana distributed to qualifying patients, including a warning label on all marijuana for medical use that is processed or sold for smoking that communicates the health and safety risks associated with smoking and a list of places and conditions in which smoking marijuana for medical use is illegal in the State of Arkansas; and (3) Any other matters necessary for the department's fair, impartial, stringent, and comprehensive administration of this amendment. (c) (1) Not later than one hundred eighty (180) days after the effective date of this amendment, the department shall adopt rules that govern the manner in which the department considers petitions from the public to add medical conditions or treatments to the list of qualifying medical conditions set forth in § 2 of this amendment. (2) In considering a petition, the department shall add medical conditions or treatments to the list of qualifying medical conditions set forth in § 2 of this amendment if patients suffering from the medical conditions or undergoing the treatments in question would derive therapeutic benefit from the use of marijuana, taking into account the positive and negative health effects of such use. (3) (A) The department shall, after hearing, approve or deny a petition within one hundred twenty (120) days of submission of the petition. (B) The approval or denial of a petition constitutes final agency action, subject to judicial review, and jurisdiction for judicial review is vested in the Pulaski County Circuit Court. (d) The department shall adopt rules within one hundred eighty (180) days of the effective date of this amendment that govern the manner in which a designated caregiver assists a physically disabled qualifying patient or a qualifying patient under the age of eighteen (18) with the medical use of marijuana. (e) The department may collect fines or fees for any violation of a rule adopted under this section. (f) When a patient receives a written certification from a physician, the physician may require the patient to consult with a pharmacist consultant of a dispensary.