Background: State medical cannabis laws have been and continue to be passed in order to address a public health issue with the central focus being patients. However, this critical patient focus has often been lost in the practice and implementation of these laws.

Findings: Patients often pay exorbitantly high prices for their medication, which often includes sales tax and can also include additional excise taxes. Despite the high cost, medical cannabis is often inconsistent in quality and can be contaminated with pesticides, mold, and insects. Doctors who are willing to recommend medical cannabis can be difficult to find. State and local medical cannabis laws have often left private patient records easily accessible to law enforcement, thereby endangering the patients themselves.

Position: Patients deserve respect and protection under the law, as well as a bill of rights to ensure a consistent, quality controlled, and affordable supply of medical cannabis. A patient bill of rights, among other assurances, would also ensure access to physicians willing to recommend medical cannabis and that medical records and personal information will be kept private and inaccessible to law enforcement.