DHSS Advisory Committee on Dispensary Facility Experience meets
by Brandon Dunn
On Wednesday, the Advisory Committee on Dispensary Facility Experience, made up of DHSS Division of Community and Public Health Deputy Ken Palermo, state Rep. Dr. Jim Neely, and Andy Fechtel of Fechtel Beverage joined Medical Marijuana Division counsel Richard Moore, who acted as moderator, to review seven key questions to dispensaries pulled from the Facility License Application Questions Draft.
In front of a small crowd, the committee burned through the selected questions, unanimously approving all seven application questions with little to no debate or inquiry, and bringing the entire meeting to a close within 17 minutes.
The seven targeted questions, numbers 127-133, on the Facility License Application Questions were approved with no amendments, changes, or further suggestion, with the lone exception being the wording for question 132 which originally read, “Do you have experience in healthcare as it relates to dispensing of medicine?” That text was changed prior to the meeting by DHSS officials after public comment to be read as, “Do you have experience in healthcare as it relates to advising or selling medicinal or therapeutic products?” The new text was unanimously approved.
Moore explained to the panel that questions are to be rated by committees as slightly important (1), important (2), highly important (3), or critically important (4). No question during this meeting was deemed to be critically important to the application process by the panel.
The questions covered and unanimously approved by the committee, as well as their rating of importance, follow:
- (127) Describe how the proposed location will be suitable for the facility. (Highly Important)
- (128) Will you have an employee training program for providing education and/or counseling on how your product(s) may interact with a qualified patient’s condition? If yes, describe. (Highly Important)
- (129) Describe how the dispensary will be accessible to patients, including but not limited to, patient access to parking and public transportation. (Important)
- (130) Describe any plans you have to deliver medical marijuana to patients offsite. (Slightly Important)
- (131) Provide a schedule of proposed hours of operation. (Important)
- (132) Do you have experience in healthcare as it relates to the dispensing of medicinal or therapeutic products? (Highly Important)
- (133) Will the facility have a physician or pharmacist retained for consultation by their clients, if needed? (Highly Important)