(410 ILCS 130/62)

Sec. 62. Opioid Alternative Pilot Program.

(a) The Department of Public Health shall establish the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program. Licensed dispensing organizations shall allow persons with a written certification from a certifying health care professional under Section 36 to purchase medical cannabis upon enrollment in the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program. The Department of Public Health shall adopt rules or establish procedures allowing qualified veterans to participate in the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program. For a person to receive medical cannabis under this Section, the person must present the written certification along with a valid driver's license or state identification card to the licensed dispensing organization specified in his or her application. The dispensing organization shall verify the person's status as an Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant through the Department of Public Health's online verification system.

(b) The Opioid Alternative Pilot Program shall be limited to participation by Illinois residents age 21 and older.

(c) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation shall specify that all licensed dispensing organizations participating in the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program use the Illinois Cannabis Tracking System. The Department of Public Health shall establish and maintain the Illinois Cannabis Tracking System. The Illinois Cannabis Tracking System shall be used to collect information about all persons participating in the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program and shall be used to track the sale of medical cannabis for verification purposes.

Each dispensing organization shall retain a copy of the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program certification and other identifying information as required by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Department of Public Health, and the Illinois State Police in the Illinois Cannabis Tracking System.

The Illinois Cannabis Tracking System shall be accessible to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, Department of Public Health, Department of Agriculture, and the Illinois State Police.

The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in collaboration with the Department of Public Health shall specify the data requirements for the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program by licensed dispensing organizations; including, but not limited to, the participant's full legal name, address, and date of birth, date on which the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program certification was issued, length of the participation in the Program, including the start and end date to purchase medical cannabis, name of the issuing physician, copy of the participant's current driver's license or State identification card, and phone number.

The Illinois Cannabis Tracking System shall provide verification of a person's participation in the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program for law enforcement at any time and on any day.

(d) The certification for Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant must be issued by a certifying health care professional who is licensed to practice in Illinois under the Medical Practice Act of 1987, the Nurse Practice Act, or the Physician Assistant Practice Act of 1987 and who is in good standing and holds a controlled substances license under Article III of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.

The certification for an Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant shall be written within 90 days before the participant submits his or her certification to the dispensing organization.

The written certification uploaded to the Illinois Cannabis Tracking System shall be accessible to the Department of Public Health.

(e) Upon verification of the individual's valid certification and enrollment in the Illinois Cannabis Tracking System, the dispensing organization may dispense the medical cannabis, in amounts not exceeding 2.5 ounces of medical cannabis per 14-day period to the participant at the participant's specified dispensary for no more than 90 days.

An Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant shall not be registered as a medical cannabis cardholder. The dispensing organization shall verify that the person is not an active registered qualifying patient prior to enrollment in the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program and each time medical cannabis is dispensed.

Upon receipt of a written certification under the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program, the Department of Public Health shall electronically forward the patient's identification information to the Prescription Monitoring Program established under the Illinois Controlled Substances Act and certify that the individual is permitted to engage in the medical use of cannabis. For the purposes of patient care, the Prescription Monitoring Program shall make a notation on the person's prescription record stating that the person has a written certification under the Opioid Alternative Pilot Program and is a patient who is entitled to the lawful medical use of cannabis. If the person is no longer authorized to engage in the medical use of cannabis, the Department of Public Health shall notify the Prescription Monitoring Program and Department of Human Services to remove the notation from the person's record. The Department of Human Services and the Prescription Monitoring Program shall establish a system by which the information may be shared electronically. This confidential list may not be combined or linked in any manner with any other list or database except as provided in this Section.

(f) An Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant shall not be considered a qualifying patient with a debilitating medical condition under this Act and shall be provided access to medical cannabis solely for the duration of the participant's certification. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit or prohibit an Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant who has a debilitating medical condition from applying to the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Program.

(g) A person with a provisional registration under Section 55 shall not be considered an Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participant.

(h) The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Department of Public Health shall submit emergency rulemaking to implement the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly by December 1, 2018. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Public Health, and the Illinois State Police shall utilize emergency purchase authority for 12 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly for the purpose of implementing the changes made by this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly.

(i) Dispensing organizations are not authorized to dispense medical cannabis to Opioid Alternative Pilot Program participants until administrative rules are approved by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and go into effect.

(j) The provisions of this Section are inoperative on and after July 1, 2025.

(Source: P.A. 101-363, eff. 8-9-19; 102-16, eff. 6-17-21.)