Medical Marijuana user Registry Update
The Medical Marijuana User Registry recently got an update that has caused a lot of confusion amongst patients. This new update, which went into effect March 1st, 2022, in short states:
Medical marijuana treatment centers “may not dispense more than one 35-day supply of marijuana in a form for smoking within any 35-day period to a qualified patient or caregiver. As such, a 35-day rolling limit will now be used to calculate dispensation limits for marijuana in smoking form.”
So what is this new update and how does it apply to patients?
The Old Way – Block Limit
The best way to understand this change, is to understand the original physician order structure. Physicians can prescribe medical cannabis for a maximum of 210 days. Under the old format, the 35 day window was in fixed increments from the first day a patient was seen (day 1-35, 36-70, etc…).
Patients can purchase up to 2.5 ounces of smokeable flower in 35 day increments as they see fit. In theory, a patient could purchase the full 2.5 ounce allotment on day 35 (the last day of the first block) and another 2.5 ounces on day 36 (the first day of the next block) if they choose to do so.
In this example above you can note the fixed 35 days from April 19th to May 23rd.
The New Way – Rolling Limit
What the new update changes isn’t the ability to purchase 2.5 ounces every 35 days, but when those 35 days start. With the new rolling limit, the first day of the 35 day cycle is when a patient actually goes into a dispensary and purchases flower for the first time.
Let’s say a patient is seen on day 1, but doesnt go purchase flower until day 20 into their prescriptions. In this scenario, that patient will now be able to purchase 2.5 ounces in a 35 day window starting on day 20 running until day 55 (out of a maximum of 210 days). After day 55, the next 35 day window doesn’t begin until that patient again goes to purchase flower.
In this example, you can see where the 35 days starts on March 12th, when the patient first went to purchase flower.
Why the change and who is affected?
This update was created in an effort to prevent people from hoarding more than the 2.5 ounce allotment at home. While this change applies to everyone, there is only a small percentage of patients that purchase the full 2.5 ounces where this could become an issue. For the vast majority of patients, this change won’t effect them at all.
Furthermore, this update doesn’t apply to the purchasing ability of the other routes of administration such as edibles, orals, and inhalational concentrates. The alternate routes will continue to be dispensed in block limits as they always have been.
Should you still have more questions about the updates, please don’t hesitate to contact the office so we can assist as best as we can!
