A first-term state lawmaker has given up in his bid to restrict what kind of doctors can recommend medical marijuana to their patients.
Rep. Jay Lawrence, R-Fountain Hills, said he introduced the measure after seeing that the vast majority of the recommendations were being issued by naturopaths. He claimed they were engaged in a money-making scheme.
His legislation would have limited the right to make recommendations to MDs and DOs. But Lawrence recently said he's changed his mind.
"I did some research and found out that the people going for medical marijuana from a naturopath still go through an investigation of their medical background. It's not just handed out," he said.
Lawrence conceded his original proposal prompted calls. "There were a few hundred. But I talked to many of those people...And it is through those conversations that you hear from people that really need the medical marijuana. And they go about getting it legitimately."
Another measure to restrict the drug still remains on the table: a proposal by Rep. Kelly Townsend to ban doctors from recommending it to pregnant women.