Full Text of SB2440 93rd General Assembly
SB2440 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004 SB2440
Introduced 2/3/2004, by Carol Ronen SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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New Act |
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720 ILCS 550/11 |
from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 711 |
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Creates the Medical Cannabis Act. Provides that a person who has been diagnosed by a
physician as having a debilitating medical condition and the person's primary caregiver may be issued a registry identification card by the Department of Human Services that permits the person or the person's primary caregiver to legally possess no more than 6 Cannabis Sativa plants and one ounce of usable cannabis. Provides that a person who possesses a registry identification card is not subject to arrest, prosecution, or
penalty in any manner, or denial of any right or privilege, including
civil penalty or disciplinary action by a professional licensing board,
for the medical use of cannabis; provided that the qualifying patient
or primary caregiver possesses an amount of cannabis that does not exceed 6 Cannabis
Sativa plants and one ounce of usable cannabis. Amends the Cannabis Control Act to make conforming changes consistent with the Medical Cannabis Act. Effective immediately.
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CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY | |
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY |
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A BILL FOR
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SB2440 |
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LRB093 18827 RLC 44562 b |
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| AN ACT concerning the medicinal use of cannabis.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the | 5 |
| Medical Cannabis Act. | 6 |
| Section 5. Purpose. | 7 |
| (a) Modern medical research has discovered a beneficial use | 8 |
| for
cannabis in treating or alleviating the pain or other | 9 |
| symptoms
associated with certain debilitating medical | 10 |
| conditions, as found by
the National Academy of Sciences' | 11 |
| Institute of Medicine in March 1999.
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| (b) According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the | 13 |
| Federal Bureau
of Investigation, 99 out of every 100 cannabis | 14 |
| arrests in
the U.S. are made under state law, rather than under | 15 |
| federal law.
Consequently, changing state law will have the | 16 |
| practical effect of
protecting from arrest the vast majority of | 17 |
| seriously ill people who
have a medical need to use cannabis.
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| (c) Although federal law currently prohibits the use of | 19 |
| cannabis, the
laws of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, | 20 |
| Maine, Nevada, Oregon,
and Washington permit the medical use | 21 |
| and cultivation of cannabis. Illinois joins in this effort for | 22 |
| the health and welfare of its citizens.
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| (d) States are not required to enforce federal law or | 24 |
| prosecute people
for engaging in activities prohibited by | 25 |
| federal law. Therefore,
compliance with this Act does not put | 26 |
| the State of Illinois in violation
of federal law. | 27 |
| (e) State law should make a distinction between the medical | 28 |
| and
non-medical use of cannabis. Hence, the purpose of this Act | 29 |
| is to
protect patients with debilitating medical conditions, | 30 |
| and their
physicians and primary caregivers, from arrest and | 31 |
| prosecution,
criminal and other penalties, and property | 32 |
| forfeiture if such patients
engage in the medical use of |
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LRB093 18827 RLC 44562 b |
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| cannabis.
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| Section 10. Definitions. The following terms, as used in | 3 |
| this Act, shall
have the meanings set forth in this Section:
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| "Debilitating medical condition" means: | 5 |
| (A) cancer, glaucoma, positive status for human | 6 |
| immunodeficiency
virus, acquired immune deficiency | 7 |
| syndrome, or the treatment of these
conditions;
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| (B) a chronic or debilitating disease or medical | 9 |
| condition or its
treatment that produces one or more of the | 10 |
| following: cachexia or
wasting syndrome; severe pain; | 11 |
| severe nausea; seizures, including those
characteristic of | 12 |
| epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms,
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| including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis or | 14 |
| Crohn's
disease; or
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| (C) any other medical condition or its treatment | 16 |
| approved by the
Department, as provided for as follows: Not | 17 |
| later than 90 days after
the effective date of this Act, | 18 |
| the Department shall promulgate
rules governing the manner | 19 |
| in which it will consider petitions
from the public to add | 20 |
| debilitating medical conditions to those
included in this | 21 |
| Act. In considering those petitions, the Department
shall | 22 |
| include public notice of, and an opportunity to comment in | 23 |
| a
public hearing upon, the petitions. The Department shall, | 24 |
| after
hearing, approve or deny such petitions within 180 | 25 |
| days of submission.
The approval or denial of such a | 26 |
| petition shall be considered a final
Department action, | 27 |
| subject to judicial review under the Administrative Review | 28 |
| Law. Jurisdiction and venue
for judicial review are vested | 29 |
| in the Circuit Court. | 30 |
| "Department" means the Department of Human Services or its | 31 |
| successor
agency.
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| "Cannabis" has the meaning given that term in Section 3 of | 33 |
| the Cannabis Control Act.
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| "Medical use" means the acquisition, possession, | 35 |
| cultivation,
manufacture, use, delivery, transfer, or |
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| transportation of cannabis or
paraphernalia relating to the | 2 |
| consumption of cannabis to alleviate the
symptoms or effects of | 3 |
| a qualifying patient's debilitating medical
condition.
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| "Physician" means a person who is licensed to practice | 5 |
| medicine in all its branches under the Medical Practice Act of | 6 |
| 1987.
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| "Primary caregiver" means a person who is at least 18 years
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| old, who has never been convicted of a felony drug offense, and | 9 |
| who has
agreed not to provide cannabis to any person other than | 10 |
| qualifying
patients. A qualifying patient may have only one | 11 |
| primary caregiver at
any one time.
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| "Qualifying patient" means a person who has been diagnosed | 13 |
| by a
physician as having a debilitating medical condition.
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| "Registry identification card" means a document issued by | 15 |
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Department that identifies a person as a qualifying patient | 16 |
| or primary
caregiver.
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| "Usable cannabis" means the dried leaves and flowers of the | 18 |
| Cannabis Sativa plant,
and any mixture or preparation thereof, | 19 |
| and does not include the seeds,
stalks, and roots of the plant.
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| "Written certification" means the qualifying patient's | 21 |
| medical
records, or a statement signed by a physician, stating | 22 |
| that in the
physician's professional opinion, after having | 23 |
| completed a full
assessment of the qualifying patient's medical | 24 |
| history and current
medical condition made in the course of a | 25 |
| bona fide physician-patient
relationship, the qualifying | 26 |
| patient has a debilitating medical
condition and the potential | 27 |
| benefits of the medical use of cannabis
would likely outweigh | 28 |
| the health risks for the qualifying patient.
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| Section 15. Protections for the medical use of cannabis. | 30 |
| (a) A qualifying patient who has in his or her possession a | 31 |
| registry
identification card is not subject to arrest, | 32 |
| prosecution, or
penalty in any manner, or denial of any right | 33 |
| or privilege, including
civil penalty or disciplinary action by | 34 |
| a professional licensing board,
for the medical use of | 35 |
| cannabis, provided that the qualifying patient
possesses an |
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| amount of cannabis that does not exceed 6 Cannabis Sativa
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| plants and one ounce of usable cannabis. | 3 |
| (b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a qualifying patient | 4 |
| under the
age of 18 years, unless:
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| (1) The qualifying patient's physician has explained | 6 |
| the potential
risks and benefits of the medical use of | 7 |
| cannabis to the qualifying
patient and to a parent, | 8 |
| guardian, or person having legal custody of
the qualifying | 9 |
| patient; and
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| (2) A parent, guardian, or person having legal custody | 11 |
| consents in
writing to:
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| (A) allow the qualifying patient's medical use of | 13 |
| cannabis;
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| (B) serve as the qualifying patient's primary | 15 |
| caregiver; and
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| (C) control the acquisition of the cannabis, the | 17 |
| dosage, and the
frequency of the medical use of | 18 |
| cannabis by the qualifying patient. | 19 |
| (c) A primary caregiver who has in his or her possession a | 20 |
| registry
identification card shall not be subject to arrest, | 21 |
| prosecution, or
penalty in any manner, or denial of any right | 22 |
| or privilege, including
civil penalty or disciplinary action by | 23 |
| a professional licensing board,
for assisting the qualifying | 24 |
| patient to whom he or she is connected
through the Department's | 25 |
| registration process with the medical use of
cannabis, provided | 26 |
| that the primary caregiver possesses an amount of
cannabis | 27 |
| which does not exceed 6 Cannabis Sativa plants and one ounce of
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| usable cannabis.
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| (d) There is a presumption that a qualifying patient or
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| primary caregiver is engaged in the medical use of cannabis if | 31 |
| the
qualifying patient or primary caregiver:
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| (1) is in possession of a registry identification card; | 33 |
| and
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| (2) is in possession of an amount of cannabis which | 35 |
| does not exceed
the amount permitted under this Act. | 36 |
| Such presumption may be rebutted
by evidence that conduct |
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| related to cannabis was not for the purpose
of alleviating the | 2 |
| symptoms or effects of a qualifying patient's
debilitating | 3 |
| medical condition.
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| (e) A primary caregiver may receive reasonable | 5 |
| compensation for
services provided to assist with a qualifying | 6 |
| patient's medical use of
cannabis.
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| (f) A physician shall not be subject to arrest, | 8 |
| prosecution, or
penalty in any manner, or denied any right or | 9 |
| privilege, including
civil penalty or disciplinary action by | 10 |
| the Department of Professional Regulation or the Medical | 11 |
| Disciplinary Board, for
providing written certification for | 12 |
| the medical use of cannabis to
qualifying patients. | 13 |
| (g) Any interest in or right to property that is possessed, | 14 |
| owned, or
used in connection with the medical use of cannabis, | 15 |
| or acts
incidental to such use, shall not be forfeited.
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| (h) No person shall be subject to arrest or prosecution for
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| "constructive possession," "conspiracy," or any other offense | 18 |
| for
simply being in the presence or vicinity of the medical use | 19 |
| of
cannabis as permitted under this Act.
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| (i) A registry identification card, or its equivalent, | 21 |
| issued by
another state government to permit the medical use of | 22 |
| cannabis by a
qualifying patient, or to permit a person to | 23 |
| assist with a qualifying
patient's medical use of cannabis, | 24 |
| shall have the same force of effect
as a registry | 25 |
| identification card issued by the Department.
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| Section 20. Procedures and rules governing registration. | 27 |
| (a) Not later than 90 days after the effective date of this | 28 |
| Act, the
Department shall promulgate rules governing the manner | 29 |
| in which
it will consider applications for and renewals of | 30 |
| registry
identification cards for qualifying patients and | 31 |
| primary caregivers.
The Department's rules shall establish | 32 |
| application and renewal
fees that generate revenues sufficient | 33 |
| to offset all expenses of
implementing and administering this | 34 |
| Act. The Department may vary the
application and renewal fees | 35 |
| along a sliding scale that accounts for a
qualifying patient's |
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| income. The Department may accept donations from
private | 2 |
| sources in order to reduce the application and renewal fees.
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| (b) The Department shall issue registry identification | 4 |
| cards to
qualifying patients who submit the following, in | 5 |
| accordance with the
Department's rules:
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| (1) written certification that the person is a | 7 |
| qualifying patient;
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| (2) application or renewal fee;
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| (3) the name, address, and date of birth of the | 10 |
| qualifying patient;
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| (4) the name, address, and telephone number of the | 12 |
| qualifying patient's
physician; and
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| (5) the name, address, and date of birth of the | 14 |
| qualifying patient's
primary caregiver, if any.
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| (c) The Department shall verify the information contained | 16 |
| in an
application or renewal submitted under this Section, and | 17 |
| shall
approve or deny an application or renewal within 30 days | 18 |
| of receipt of
the application or renewal. The Department may | 19 |
| deny an application or
renewal only if the applicant did not | 20 |
| provide the information required
under this Section, or if the | 21 |
| Department determines that the
information provided was | 22 |
| falsified.
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| (d) The Department shall issue a registry identification | 24 |
| card to the
primary caregiver who is named in a qualifying | 25 |
| patient's approved
application, so long as the primary | 26 |
| caregiver signs a statement
agreeing to provide cannabis only | 27 |
| to qualifying patients who have
named him or her as primary | 28 |
| caregiver; provided, the Department may
not issue a registry | 29 |
| identification card to a proposed primary
caregiver who has | 30 |
| previously been convicted of a felony drug offense.
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| (e) The Department shall issue registry identification | 32 |
| cards within
5 days of approving an application or renewal, | 33 |
| which shall expire
one year after the date of issuance. | 34 |
| Registry identification cards
shall contain:
(1) name, | 35 |
| address, and date of birth of the qualifying patient;
(2) name, | 36 |
| address, and date of birth of the qualifying patient's
primary |
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| caregiver, if any;
(3) the date of issuance and expiration date | 2 |
| of the registry
identification card; and
(4) other information | 3 |
| that the Department may specify in its
regulations.
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| (f) A person who possesses a registry identification card | 5 |
| shall notify
the Department of any change in the qualifying | 6 |
| patient's name, address,
physician, or primary caregiver, or | 7 |
| change in status of the qualifying
patient's debilitating | 8 |
| medical condition, within 10 days of such
change, or the | 9 |
| registry identification card shall be deemed null and
void.
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| (g) Possession of, or application for, a registry | 11 |
| identification card
does not alone constitute probable cause to | 12 |
| search the person or
property of the person possessing or | 13 |
| applying for the registry
identification card, or otherwise | 14 |
| subject the person or property of the
person possessing the | 15 |
| card to inspection by any governmental agency.
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| (h) The Department shall maintain a confidential list of | 17 |
| the persons
to whom the Department has issued registry | 18 |
| identification cards.
Individual names and other identifying | 19 |
| information on the list shall be
confidential, exempt from the | 20 |
| Freedom of Information Act, and not
subject to disclosure, | 21 |
| except to:
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| (1) authorized employees of the Department as | 23 |
| necessary to perform
official duties of the Department; or
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| (2) authorized employees of State or local law | 25 |
| enforcement agencies,
only as necessary to verify that a | 26 |
| person who is engaged in the
suspected or alleged medical | 27 |
| use of cannabis is lawfully in possession
of a registry | 28 |
| identification card. | 29 |
| (i) The Department shall report annually to the General | 30 |
| Assembly on the
number of applications for registry | 31 |
| identification cards, the number of
qualifying patients and | 32 |
| primary caregivers approved, the nature of the
debilitating | 33 |
| medical conditions of the qualifying patients, the number
of | 34 |
| registry identification cards revoked, and the number of | 35 |
| physicians
providing written certification for qualifying | 36 |
| patients. The
Department may not provide any identifying |
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LRB093 18827 RLC 44562 b |
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| information of qualifying
patients, primary caregivers, or | 2 |
| physicians.
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| (j) It is a Class B misdemeanor for any person, including | 4 |
| employees and officials of the
Department and other State and | 5 |
| local governmental units or agencies, to
provide any | 6 |
| identifying information of qualifying patients or primary
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| caregivers to a federal official or federal agency.
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| Section 25. Scope of Act. | 9 |
| (a) This Act does not permit:
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| (1) any person to operate, navigate, or be in actual | 11 |
| physical control
of any motor vehicle, aircraft, or | 12 |
| motorboat while under the influence
of cannabis; or
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| (2) the smoking of cannabis:
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| (A) in a school bus or other form of public | 15 |
| transportation;
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| (B) on any school grounds;
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| (C) in any correctional facility; or
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| (D) at any public park, public beach, public | 19 |
| recreation center, or
youth center.
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| (b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require:
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| (1) a government medical assistance program or private | 22 |
| health insurer
to reimburse a person for costs associated | 23 |
| with the medical use of
cannabis; or
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| (2) an employer to accommodate the medical use of | 25 |
| cannabis in any
workplace.
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| (c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, fraudulent | 27 |
| representation
to a law enforcement official of any fact or | 28 |
| circumstance relating to
the medical use of cannabis to avoid | 29 |
| arrest or prosecution is a petty offense
punishable by a fine | 30 |
| of $500, which shall be in addition to any other
penalties that | 31 |
| may apply for the non-medical use of cannabis.
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| Section 30. Affirmative defense. A person and a person's | 33 |
| primary caregiver, if any, may assert the
medical use of | 34 |
| cannabis as a defense to any prosecution involving
cannabis, |
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LRB093 18827 RLC 44562 b |
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| and such defense shall be presumed valid where the evidence
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| shows that:
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| (1) the person's medical records indicate, or a physician | 4 |
| has stated
that, in the physician's professional opinion, after | 5 |
| having completed a
full assessment of the person's medical | 6 |
| history and current medical
condition made in the course of a | 7 |
| bona fide physician-patient
relationship, the potential | 8 |
| benefits of the medical use of cannabis
would likely outweigh | 9 |
| the health risks for the person; and
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| (2) the person and the person's primary caregiver, if any, | 11 |
| were
collectively in possession of a quantity of cannabis that | 12 |
| was not more
than was reasonably necessary to ensure the | 13 |
| uninterrupted availability
of cannabis for the purpose of | 14 |
| alleviating the symptoms or effects of
the person's medical | 15 |
| condition. | 16 |
| Section 35. The Cannabis Control Act is amended by changing | 17 |
| Section 11 as follows:
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| (720 ILCS 550/11) (from Ch. 56 1/2, par. 711)
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| Sec. 11. Authorization for use of cannabis for medical | 20 |
| purposes. The Department may authorize the possession, | 21 |
| production, manufacture, and delivery of substances containing | 22 |
| cannabis in accordance with the Medical Cannabis Act.
(a) The | 23 |
| Department, with the written approval of the
Department of | 24 |
| State Police, may authorize the possession,
production,
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| manufacture and delivery of substances containing cannabis by | 26 |
| persons
engaged in research and when such authorization is | 27 |
| requested by a
physician licensed to practice medicine in all | 28 |
| its branches, such
authorization shall issue without | 29 |
| unnecessary delay where the Department
finds that such | 30 |
| physician licensed to practice medicine in all its
branches has | 31 |
| certified that such possession, production, manufacture or
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| delivery of such substance is necessary for the treatment of | 33 |
| glaucoma,
the side effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy | 34 |
| in cancer patients or such other
procedure certified to be |
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| medically necessary; such authorization shall
be, upon such | 2 |
| terms and conditions as may be consistent with the public
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| health and safety. To the extent of the applicable | 4 |
| authorization,
persons are exempt from prosecution in this | 5 |
| State for possession,
production, manufacture or delivery of | 6 |
| cannabis.
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| (b) Persons registered under Federal law to conduct | 8 |
| research with
cannabis may conduct research with cannabis | 9 |
| including, but not limited
to treatment by a physician licensed | 10 |
| to practice medicine in all its
branches for glaucoma, the side | 11 |
| effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy
in cancer
patients | 12 |
| or such other procedure which is medically necessary within
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| this State upon furnishing evidence of that Federal | 14 |
| registration and
notification of the scope and purpose of such | 15 |
| research to the Department
and to the Department of State | 16 |
| Police of that Federal
registration.
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| (c) Persons authorized to engage in research may be | 18 |
| authorized by
the Department to protect the privacy of | 19 |
| individuals who are the
subjects of such research by | 20 |
| withholding from all persons not connected
with the conduct of | 21 |
| the research the names and other identifying
characteristics of | 22 |
| such individuals. Persons who are given this
authorization | 23 |
| shall not be compelled in any civil, criminal,
administrative, | 24 |
| legislative or other proceeding to identify the
individuals who | 25 |
| are the subjects of research for which the authorization
was | 26 |
| granted, except to the extent necessary to permit the | 27 |
| Department to
determine whether the research is being conducted | 28 |
| in accordance with the
authorization.
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| (Source: P.A. 84-25.)
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| Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are | 31 |
| severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
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| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 33 |
| becoming law.
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