Colorado health officials on Tuesday temporarily struck the definition of “caregiver” from rules governing sales of medical marijuana, which providers say may make it harder for patients to buy pot legally.

Last summer, the state Board of Health defined a list of duties, such as grocery shopping or meal preparation, that an individual could perform that would qualify him or her as a patient’s caregiver and thus legally eligible to sell medical marijuana. The language also made it possible to qualify if the only service the person provided was selling pot.

But because a Colorado Court of Appeals opinion released last week found that a “caregiver” must do more than provide medical marijuana, the board temporarily removed the definition.

“I don’t believe this leaves the board any leeway,” Jim Martin, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said of the ruling made Thursday in the case of Stacy Clendenin.

In 2006, Clendenin was charged with cultivation of marijuana in her Longmont home, which is a felony.

Clendenin argued that the marijuana she grew was distributed to authorized medical-marijuana patients through dispensaries. The court ruled that a caregiver must do more for a patient with one of eight qualifying debilitating medical conditions than provide pot.

Board buys itself time

By changing the rule to eliminate the definition of caregiver, the state Board of Health has eliminated conflicting standards for people trying to comply with state law. The panel also has given itself time to consider whether to repeal the language permanently. The board will resume discussion of the definition during a public meeting Dec. 16.

State Sen. Chris Romer, D-Denver, plans to introduce a bill next year clarifying regulations for the use of medical-marijuana.

Martin said he expects lawmakers to formulate rules with input from all sides in the debate.

A kink for businesses

But the board’s temporary action could require small dispensaries and growers to offer more care than they are capable of, said attorney Warren Edson, who represents dispensaries and growers.

The board has changed the rules for an industry that has grown up since the now invalid language was approved, Edson said. “They told us in July, you don’t have to do anything but (provide) pot. We have a whole industry that has grown up that is screwed.”

It was not the intention of the board to throw a kink in business plans of those selling medical marijuana, said health department spokesman Mark Salley. “I think it is the Court of Appeals decision that might have changed the game. All this board did was make sure it was not in conflict with the court.”

Some large dispensaries, such as Peace in Medicine near the federal courthouse in Denver, provide wellness services as well as marijuana. But it may be impossible for smaller dispensaries or growers to offer anything but the drug, Edson said.

Criminal vulnerability

The rule change might expose the smaller operators to criminal prosecution, said Peace in Medicine’s owner, Josh Stanley. “People could potentially be arrested, and then we would have a large group of patients without caregivers,” he said. “You take away these legal licensed caregivers, you are going to see the (drug) cartels and the black market rear their head.”

Roger Ronas, 51, a legally blind diabetic who suffered renal failure and uses marijuana to control nausea and pain, said the board’s decision “drives a wedge between me and my caregiver.

“This will force me out on the black market,” he said. “It is quite scary because I don’t know where to go.”

Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com

Taking notice

More than 100 people packed a conference room and adjacent hallway for the state Board of Health’s emergency hearing to repeal the definition of “caregiver” on Tuesday, but lawyer Robert J. Corry Jr. said the panel had not provided proper public notice.

Most board members participated in the meeting by phone, and lines were open to the public, as well.

But there weren’t enough lines available for all those who wanted to participate, Corry said. Many people who waited to get into the meeting were unable to attend.

“This is a secret meeting. People can’t get into the room,” he told the board.

Health department spokesman Mark Salley said the board complied with state open-meetings laws, posting notice of the meeting to the websites maintained by the Colorado Department of Health and Environment and the state marijuana registry at 4:30 p.m. Monday. The health department also contacted Corry and others who represent caregivers.

Board president Glenn H. Schlabs, who participated in the emergency hearing by phone, refused to allow Corry, the lawyer in the Colorado Court of Appeals case that resulted in the rescinded language, to speak about the court decision, saying that the public would have a chance to speak at the December meeting.

“I will see you in court,” Corry said, promising to file a lawsuit as early as today. Tom McGhee, The Denver Post