The Arkansas House of Representatives voted Tuesday to delay implementation of the voter-passed Medical Marijuana Amendment and to exempt patient requests for the drug from federal privacy laws.

The House's designated point man for legislative changes to the medical "pot" law, state Rep. Doug House, R-North Little Rock, said the two proposals were necessary to effectively implement a system for distributing the drug to patients.

Voters approved medical marijuana in November, and the state is going through the process of setting up the regulations to allow the plant to be grown and administered. Some of those issues were discussed by the Medical Marijuana Commission when it met Tuesday afternoon.

David Couch, the Little Rock attorney who sponsored the constitutional amendment, said he did not have any problem with the changes approved in the House.

[INTERACTIVE MAP: Click here for a look at how laws related to marijuana have evolved over the past two decades.]

The vote to delay the law's implementation date by 60 days, through House Bill 1026, passed 91-0, with one member voting present. House Bill 1058, to change the process for a physician to certify that a patient has a qualifying medical condition, passed 70-23, and one present vote.

Both bills needed a two-thirds majority to make changes to the constitutional amendment.

As written, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment gives state agencies 120 days to implement the law. Lawmakers said agencies needed more time.

"You won't get public input, you won't get public participation," House said of the consequences of not granting an extension. "Mistakes will be made."

The second piece of legislation changed language to clarify that patients' applications for a marijuana registry card are not medical records, thus ensuring they are not covered by the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

The records would still be considered confidential and exempt from the state's Freedom of Information Act, but punishment for anyone wrongly disclosing them would be less.

The bill also would remove language from the law requiring doctors to weigh the potential health risks of using medical marijuana when certifying that a patient has a qualifying condition.

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Doctors would not feel comfortable writing certifications under such a requirement, House said, and it would become nearly impossible to get medical marijuana as a result.

After the House's action, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission met near the state Capitol but took no votes. The commission, created by the amendment, has been working on the rules for growing facilities and dispensaries.

During the meeting, Commissioner Travis Story presented a plan to spread the the 32 authorized dispensary licenses across eight zones.

At a previous meeting, the commission had decided to evenly distribute the licenses across the state's four congressional districts. Story said his plan would improve access to medical marijuana in rural parts of the state.

However, Commission Chairman Ronda Henry-Tillman said she was concerned by counties' ability to opt out.

The amendment won with 53 percent of the vote statewide, though 36 of 75 counties voted against it. Voters can ban cultivation facilities and dispensaries within a city, county or incorporated town in an election.

Smaller zones for dispensaries would be a problem if a concentrated group of counties vote to ban marijuana facilities, she argued.

Beyond where to license dispensaries, the commission discussed the process for deciding who should receive licenses. Commissioners said they wanted dispensaries to undergo both a merit and lottery selection process.

Under the proposal, dispensaries would have to meet a set of minimum requirements established by the commission. n̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶n̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶e̶v̶a̶l̶u̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶i̶s̶s̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶d̶d̶i̶t̶i̶o̶n̶a̶l̶ ̶g̶u̶i̶d̶e̶l̶i̶n̶e̶s̶.̶ ̶D̶i̶s̶p̶e̶n̶s̶a̶r̶i̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶f̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶w̶i̶t̶h̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶9̶0̶t̶h̶ ̶p̶e̶r̶c̶e̶n̶t̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶c̶o̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶o̶u̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶e̶n̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶l̶o̶t̶t̶e̶r̶y̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶ ̶s̶e̶t̶ ̶n̶u̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶v̶a̶i̶l̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ ̶l̶i̶c̶e̶n̶s̶e̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶a̶ ̶g̶i̶v̶e̶n̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶a̶.̶

Applicants who meet those requirements would then be entered into a lottery to determine the order in which they would appear before the commission for hearings. The commission would continue its hearings until all 32 authorized dispensary licenses are issued.*

The Medical Marijuana Commission's next meeting is at 3 p.m. Jan. 26 at 1515 W. Seventh St. in Little Rock.

A Section on 01/18/2017

*CORRECTION: Under a proposal discussed by the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission on Tuesday, dispensary applicants would have to meet minimum requirements established by the commission. Applicants who meet those requirements would then be entered into a lottery to determine the order in which they would appear before the commission for hearings. The commission would continue its hearings until all 32 authorized dispensary licenses are issued. A previous version of this story incorrectly described the licensing process for medical marijuana dispensaries.