The Daily Iowan THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA COMMUNITY SINCE 1868
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
INSIDE 5
THE DAILY IOWAN | DAILYIOWAN.COM | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019
1,361
Lawmakers aim to expand CBD program
52%
for untreatable pain
11% for cancer with severe pain
9% for multiple sclerosis 8% for seizures
BY EMILY WANGEN | emily-wangen@uiowa.edu
‘There is no reason for people to needlessly suffer in Iowa because they can’t get access to safe legal cannabis. There’s just no reason for it, and I hope that we can make a breakthrough this year to fix some of these problems in our current program.’ — Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City
cations have increased by more than 10-fold. In February 2018, the department approved 22 applications, and in its peak month, December 2018, the department approved 383 applications, a 1,641 percent increase. The debate surrounding CBD has been going on in the Legislature since before 2014, when then-Gov. Terry Branstad signed into law the Medical Cannabidiol Act. That legalized cannabidiol for medicinal purposes but drew fire from critics for requiring registrants in the program to obtain CBD out-of-state. Transporting CBD across state lines was a violation of federal law at the time. An expanded Medical Cannabidiol Act was passed by lawmakers in 2017. Under the 2017 legislation, nine conditions fall under the criteria of “debilitating medical conditions” to be treated with CBD. However, there is a process to petition to add medical conditions to the list by the eight-person Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board. Randy Mayer, the director of the Office of Medical Cannabidiol, said two more conditions will be added in the upcoming months. “One thing that has been apparent in our current medical-cannabis system is that very few people have actual access to treatment,” Boulton said. Boulton and Zaun’s bill would also strike the “untreatable pain” qualification and amend the law to say “severe or chronic pain,” and it adds a new subsection to include “any other medical condition for which the patient’s health-care practitioner determines the use of medical cannabidiol could be medically beneficial.” “We really want doctors to make those decisions based on the symptoms they are identifying, not any laundry list from the Legislature saying what’s ok and what’s not,” Boulton said. “We trust doctors to make the right decisions in a lot of different areas, including highly addictive narcotic pain medications.” Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, said he does not want doctors to be the ones to prescribe CBD and prefers the certification system in place in which doctors certify that the patient has a qualifying condition under the law. He said medical groups in Iowa have been against this type of legislation. One of those groups, the Iowa Medical Society, has lobbied against SF 77. Representatives from the Iowa Medical Society did not return the DI’s request to comment by phone, but in an opinion piece published in the Des Moines Register in December, Iowa Medical Society President Michael Romano wrote that he believes there is an inadequate amount of scientific research to prove medical cannabidiol products are helpful. Co-Director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California-San Diego J.H. Atkinson said there is little evidence to support therapeutic effects of CBD but noted that existing research has shown that CBD may help people with a phobia of public speaking, rare childhood seizure disorders, and schizophrenia.
7% for Parkinson’s Disease 4% for Crohn’s disease 3% for cancer with nausea or severe vomiting
2% for cancer with cahexia or severe wasting
Warren Skalski/Chicago Tribune/TNS.
‘Neither of these molecules will heal anything. What they’re both really effective at doing is treating the symptoms that those conditions bring on.’ — Lucas Nelson, director of MedPharm Iowa Epilepsy Foundation Iowa, on the other hand, supports the bill. A statement from the foundation emailed to the DI by Executive Director Roxanne Cogil detailed reasons the foundation supports measures to expand the current program. “While not everyone with epilepsy should or would consider medical cannabis or CBD as a treatment option, some people living with uncontrolled seizures have reported beneficial effects and reduced seizure activity when using medical cannabis, especially strains rich in CBD,” Epilepsy Foundation Iowa said in an email to the DI. THC and CBD, components of medical cannabidiol products, are
2% for ALS
each part of cannabis plant. Early research has shown that these two molecules bind to receptors in the body. “Neither of these molecules will heal anything,” Director of MedPharm Iowa Lucas Nelson said. “What they’re both really effective at doing is treating the symptoms that those conditions bring on.” MedPharm Iowa is the only manufacturer of CBD products in the state. It received a manufacturing license in November 2017. Nelson said he is in favor of removing the THC cap completely and replacing it with a purchase cap, limiting the number of products purchased by an individual in a certain period of time rather than limiting the amount of the molecule present in the formula. He added that removing the THC cap would allow for different products to become available and lower prices, as products would be able to be more concentrated. The company makes four different formulas under the label Aliviar with different ratios of CBD to THC. Depending on the formula, patients can purchase creams, tinctures, or capsules in varying levels of strength. These products can only be purchased from one of five dispensaries in the state. MedPharm Iowa
UI asking regents to save Labor Center An agreement with the College of Law, which the state Board of Regents will consider on Feb. 28, would save the center and phase out support from the law school over four years. BY MARISSA PAYNE
marissa-payne@uiowa.edu
1% for terminal illness with pain
1% for AIDS/HIV Source: Iowa Department of Public Health operates two of them and the other three are owned and operated by separate companies. Bolkcom, a proponent of medical marijuana and legalizing recreational marijuana, said adding more dispensaries is an important step to improving the current medical cannabidiol program. Other steps he noted in an interview with the DI were raising the THC cap and adding more qualifying conditions. “There is no reason for people to needlessly suffer in Iowa because they can’t get access to safe legal cannabis,” Bolkcom said. “There’s just no reason for it, and I hope that we can make a breakthrough this year to fix some of these problems in our current program.”
CBD Applications Approved 450 400 350
The University of Iowa has heard the community’s calls to “Save the Labor Center.” The state Board of Regents may vote to reconsider closing the Labor Center at the governing board’s Feb.
28 meeting in Ames, at the university’s request. The Labor Center had been scheduled to close June 30, the final day of fiscal 2019. Harreld The request, backed by UI President Bruce Har-
reld, follows the regents’ approval in November 2018 of the UI’s request to close the Labor Center as well as several other centers and institutes amid dwindling state funding for higher education. In the spring of 2018, the UI announced it would consider closing several centers and institutes follow-
ing the state Legislature’s passing midyear budget cuts to the UI and Iowa State University. Lawmakers passed nearly $11 million in midyear fiscal 2018 budget cuts to split between the two universities, and the University of Northern Iowa’s budSEE CENTER, 2
300
APPLICATIONS
owa’s medical marijuana program has changed since its inception — the approval of a manufacturer, five dispensaries in the state, and an increase in the number of patients using the products. In this legislative session, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seek to expand the program further. “I’ve been encouraged to see that this may be an actual opportunity for bipartisan work to address a critical need in our state,” said Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, the co-sponsor of a bill that would expand conditions under which patients could receive certification to be treated with CBD. “That is, getting people who need access to treatment, the access they deserve.” One bill, Senate File 77, introduced by Boulton and Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, would expand the list of medical conditions allowed to be treated with CBD. The bill would also raise a controversial cap on THC, the main ingredient in marijuana that gives users a “high,” from 3 percent to 13 percent. Boulton said the cap hurts manufacturers and limits one of two key ingredients in medical cannabidiol products. A proposed bill in the House would eliminate the THC cap altogether. Boulton and Zaun’s bill passed a three-person subcommittee in the Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 31, and it awaits consideration and review by the whole committee. A similar proposal to add medical conditions to Iowa’s cannabis program that was introduced in the 2018 legislative session passed the Iowa Senate 45-5, but it was not taken up in the House. Boulton said the 2019 bill came from discussions between him and Zaun. Zaun did not respond to The Daily Iowan’s request to comment. Since the 2017 expansion of Iowa’s 3-year-old medical cannabis program, the number of certified medical cannabidiol users in Iowa has grown exponentially. As of Feb. 1, 1,361 Iowans have been issued medical cannabidiol registration cards, 52 percent of those use CBD products for “untreatable pain,” and 505 healthcare practitioners have certified patients to participate in the program, according to data from the Iowa Department of Public Health. Monthly approved appli-
50¢
Issued CBD cards in Iowa
Iowa’s medical cannabidiol program may be expanded in this legislative session with bipartisan proposals in both chambers.
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Source: Iowa Department of Public Health
Medical marijuana gains traction in Iowa
The Daily Iowan Ethics and Politics Initiative is funded by a private donor and will appear biweekly this semester. The team’s mission is to understand, interpret, analyze, and report on topics, trends and personalities that shape politics in Iowa and the United States, and to recognize the importance of a strong ethical foundation in its pursuits. Email daily-iowan@uiowa.edu with story ideas, press releases, or reader comments.
The number of Iowans registered to use CBD to treat conditions such as seizures and severe pain have increased by almost 10-fold in the last year. Iowa legislators are looking to expand the 4-yearold program further to add more conditions and raise a controversial cap on THC levels.
UISG votes to uphold First- Gen veto, discusses public-private partnership
POLITICS, 5
3
UI creates program to strengthen second-year experience
UI Housing & Dining has created a program called the Second Year Experience to encourage students to live on campus during their second years. The program, located in Catlett, will allow students to create portfolios for their future careers.
Alyson Kuennen/The Daily Iowan UISG President Hira Mustafa listens during a UISG meeting at the IMU on Tuesday.
Stanley Museum of Art, UIHC team up for art research
The Stanley Museum of Art has teamed up with the UIHC to examine African art pieces more closely using CT scanning technology. See dailyiowan.com for the full story.
8
Hawkeyes magic runs out against Maryland Iowa men’s basketball had a chance to extend its Big Ten win streak against the Terrapins, but a poor offensive showing ended that chance. The Hawkeyes mounted a comeback for another buzzer-beating win, but fell short in the final seconds.
UISG backs veto on First-Gen Summit
UISG hears from UI CFO Terry Johnson, who described a possible partnership between the UI and a private utility firm.
BY RYLEE WILSON
University of Iowa Student Government heard a presentation on a possible partnership between the UI and a private firm and had the opportunity to ask questions at their meeting on Tuesday. The UI announced on Feb. 8 it would consider entering a public-private partnership to maintain and operate its utility system after Gov. Kim Reynolds requested the state’s three public universities explore such options.
rylee-wilson@uiowa.edu University of Iowa Student Government senators on Tuesday voted to uphold UISG President Hira Mustafa’s veto on legislation senators passed a week ago funding the second First Generation Summit. Twenty-nine of 50 senators voted to pass the legislation, falling five votes short of the required 34 needed to SEE VETO, 2
BY BROOKLYN DRAISEY
brooklyn-draisey@uiowa.edu
Graduate workers allege mistreatment Current and former kitchen staff of the Graduate Iowa City allege that they had no breaks, as well as other mistreatment.
SEE PARTNERSHIP, 2
Regents to ponder $8.5 million Hillcrest renovation The Board of Regents will discuss Hillcrest renovations, which would begin in the summer of 2020. BY KAYLI REESE
Iowa women’s swimming opens championship season
kayli-reese@uiowa.edu
The Hawkeye women’s swimming and diving team heads to Bloomington, Indiana, to kick off the postseason at the Big Ten Championships. With the roster it will bring, Iowa will look toward the podium often. SPORTS, 8
Tune in for LIVE updates Watch for campus and city news, weather, and Hawkeye sports coverage every day at 8:30 a.m. at dailyiowan.com.
UI Chief Financial Officer Terry Johnson spoke to UISG about the partnership and what it would and wouldn’t mean for the UI and its employees. Johnson stressed that this partnership would not eliminate university jobs. If the UI does enter into a partnership, 80 to 90 percent of the staff will begin working for the third party and then come back to the UI when the partnership ends. Those employees who do not stay in the plant will be shifted to other areas of the university.
Michael Guhin/The Daily Iowan The Graduate Iowa City is seen on Feb. 19.
BY ANDY MITCHELL
andrew-mitchell@uiowa.edu Graduate Iowa City workers confronted their employers on Tuesday, alleging mistreatment and an uncomfortable working environment.
The workers reached out to the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa to help organize into a delegation to submit a letter of complaint to the Graduate management. The delegation appeared at the Graduate at noon SEE GRADUATE, 2
The University of Iowa has requested permission from the state Board of Regents to proceed with project planning for $8.5 million in renovations to Hillcrest Hall. The regents will discuss the matter at their Feb. 27-28 meeting at Iowa State University. The proposed project would replace floor, wall, and ceiling finishes in dorm rooms, specifically replacing doors, floors, closets, drywall, paint, and window treatments, according to regents’ documents. It also would go into renovating corridors, lounges, and elevator lobbies. Additional study spaces may also be added. “This work would be consistent with the university’s goal to reinvest wisely in existing facilities in order to extend the useful lives of buildings and provide a high-quality student experience on campus,” the document said. If the renovations are approved, the document said, construction would begin in the summer of 2020 and continue over the next four summers. Funds for the renovations would come from University Housing Renewal and Improvement funds. Hillcrest is 80 years old and is home to more than 820 students, making it the largest residence hall on the West Campus. The last update to student living spaces in Hillcrest was a $3.3 million project in 2016 that replaced vanities and plumbing in the residence hall.