Judge Orders DHHS to Issue Medical Marijuana ID Card to Horan

On Tuesday, a Merrimack County Superior Court Judge ordered the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to issue a medical marijuana ID card to a woman with terminal cancer in order to expedite her access to medical marijuana.

Linda Horan of Alstead filed a lawsuit against DHHS Commissioner Nicholas Toumpas earlier this month, asking the agency to immediately issue her a medical marijuana ID card so that she can begin obtaining medical marijuana legally in Maine and using it without fear of arrest in New Hampshire.

The lawsuit is available at mpp.org/HoranLawsuit.

DHHS is responsible for administrating the state’s medical marijuana program, which has experienced several delays since Gov. Maggie Hassan signed it into law in July 2013. The agency began accepting applications from patients interested in participating in the program, but patients remain at risk of arrest and prosecution until they receive program ID cards. DHHS is refusing to issue ID cards until dispensaries open, which is not expected until 2016.

Horan, who suffers from stage IV lung cancer, filed an application with DHHS after receiving approval from all five of her physicians.

“We are extremely grateful to Judge McNamara for directing the state to follow the law and not deprive critically ill patients of medicine, said Paul Twomey, Horan’s attorney. “The Department of Health and Human Services has been extremely helpful and compassionate throughout this process, and we fully expect them to process Linda’s application expeditiously so that she might travel to Maine to obtain her medicine. We hope that the rest of state government will benefit from this case and start to work to heal and not hinder patients.”

Twomey said the current law does not provide anything like adequate access to medical care, especially in the North Country, where extremely ill patients must travel for hours and hours to reach the nearest treatment center. There are simple solutions to access problems if the government can manage to deal with this as a health problem. We must let our doctors make decisions about health care.

“I would like to express my gratitude to the Marijuana Policy Project for its invaluable assistance that made it possible for Linda Horan to receive the medical treatment she needs and deserves,” he stated. “Quite simply, we would not have been able to bring this lawsuit without their help. Linda is a hero. Facing death, she has chosen to fight for the rights of all the critically ill patients in New Hampshire, who should not have to fear arrest because they are sick. She may be dying, but we all owe her our thanks for showing us how to live.”

State Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, assisted with the case and noted in previous press statements that he and other legislators didn’t work on this issue so that people could die.

“As a lawmaker who voted to treat patients with dignity and respect and allow therapeutic cannabis use, I am dismayed and outraged by the decision by the Department of Health and Human Services to withhold the issuance of patient registry cards that allow qualified New Hampshire patients to obtain and use medical marijuana,” he noted earlier this month.

Caption: State Rep. Renny Cushing, D-Hampton, helps Linda Horan of Alstead fill out an application to receive a medical marijuana ID card earlier this year while she undergoes chemotherapy Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon. Courtesy