Sen. wants delay of med. marijana law

BOSTON (State House News Service) - Saying the state and its cities and towns are not prepared for a medical marijuana law, Quincy Democrat Sen. John Keenan on Friday urged other lawmakers to join him in trying to delay the law's implementation for nine months.

A Keenan aide said he's hoping a delay provision can be added to one of the many bills advancing in the final ten days of informal sessions. Calling the voter law's provisions "rushed and haphazard policy," Keenan said the law lacks safeguards against abuse.

"The introduction of medical marijuana in Massachusetts poses challenges, as would the introduction of any new addictive substance that is untested in medical practice, and the creation of a new multi-million dollar industry with statewide impacts," Keenan said in a statement. Keenan noted that Reading, Wakefield and Saugus officials have voted to ban medical marijuana dispensaries and officials in Quincy and Westborough have requested a delay in implementation.

Keenan will push legislation next year requiring parental consent for minors to be prescribed and to use medical marijuana, establishing a distribution system that removes retail marijuana shops from communities, and requiring that marijuana prescriptions be reported in a state monitoring program aimed at preventing patients from "doctor shopping" to fill "excessive quantities of prescription drugs."

Keenan's bill will also require in-person examinations and consultations with patients requesting medical marijuana.