DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Serious questions linger about the fate of medical marijuana in Iowa as Republican lawmakers find themselves considering an eleventh-hour deal that would expand the program to more patients. The state’s sole manufacturer of medical cannabis oil worries that, once sales begin in about seven months, many patients will realize treatment would be unaffordable, impractical or unobtainable due to restrictions placed on the fledgling industry. The lack of a robust market, in turn, would jeopardize access for those who still could benefit. “We’ve provided some false hope,” said Sen. Joe Bolkcom, an Iowa City Democrat who has backed efforts to expand access to medical marijuana. “There are thousands of Iowans counting on us to deliver.”

Iowa legalized possession of cannabis oil in 2014, but there was no legal means to obtain the substance until a bill approved last year allowed for its manufacture and for five dispensaries— planned for Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Davenport, Waterloo and the Des Moines suburb of Windsor Heights. The expansion was part of last year’s budget negotiations, and it was one of the final bills following all-night negotiations on the last day of the session. Last year’s deal capped the amount of THC, the most psychoactive compound in marijuana, at 3 percent for any legal cannabis oil. That limit has been the main target of advocates seeking to further expand medical marijuana in the state.

A lot of people misunderstand how Iowa’s THC cap works, said Lucas Nelson of Des Moines-based Kemin Industries, which is the lead consultant for MedPharm Iowa, the state’s first and currently only cannabis oil manufacturer. Nelson’s uncle, who is the president and CEO of Kemin, is the founder of MedPharm Iowa. Nelson oversees the relationship between the two companies, which share a campus in Des Moines.
The state limits the ratio of THC in medical cannabis oil products — not the overall amount given to a patient. So, Nelson said, a patient who may benefit from a large dose of THC could still obtain it, but would have to consume more units of low-THC products. Essentially, patients would pay for “filler” that would cost several times the equivalent of high-THC products.

Those costs would price out many patients, who would be paying out of pocket for MedPharm Iowa’s pills, droppers or creams. Some patients might not be able to take a large number of pills or other delivery methods, Nelson said, placing access to medical marijuana out of reach. Iowa prohibits smoking or eating medical marijuana. “With this cap in place, there are too many people who can’t be treated,” Nelson said. “If this program is to be sustainable, what that means is we have to be able to give the patients what they are actually seeking so they can actually treat their conditions.”

A bill to remove the THC cap received a preliminary vote in the Iowa Senate last week. The legislation also would expand the list of qualifying conditions, which currently includes cancer, epilepsy, untreatable pain, multiple sclerosis and terminal illnesses. And, the bill would allow doctors to recommend the cannabis oil be used as a treatment for other conditions not listed if they believe it would be beneficial.
Peter Komendowski, president of Partnership for a Drug Free Iowa, a private nonprofit organization that works to minimize high-risk behavior in Iowa’s youth, said the state’s current THC limit already sets a “dangerous precedent” that could result in further marijuana legalization. His group remains skeptical about medical use of marijuana and argues it’s not a proven treatment for pain.

House Speaker Linda Upmeyer, a Clear Lake Republican, said she would prefer to wait for the recommendation of an advisory board created as part of last year’s last-minute deal. The advisory board is charged with making recommendations on Iowa’s medical marijuana program, and the board plans to have the THC limit on its agenda at an August meeting. A report from the board would be finished in November.
Upmeyer said legislators could look at the board’s recommendations next session, which begins about a month after cannabis oil sales are scheduled to begin. She said legislators should wait for the board to weigh in, but she did not rule out holding a vote soon on the Senate’s bill.

Medical marijuana is one of several issues — including bills on abortion and the opioid crisis —that have received support from just one chamber in the Republican-controlled Legislature that could be brought forward as leaders negotiate a compromise on the state budget and tax cuts to wrap up the session. Nelson said it would take several months to ramp up production of high-THC products, so delaying a vote could leave people uncertain if or when they’d have adequate access to medical marijuana. MedPharm Iowa has invested more than $10 million in its manufacturing facility to prepare for sales to begin Dec. 1. The state is accepting proposals for a second manufacturer, which would be selected this summer and would bring products to market starting in July 2019.

Nelson said MedPharm Iowa has committed to remaining in the market, but he cautioned that more patients are needed to make the business sustainable. He said the implications of the THC cap took some time for everyone to understand following the passage of last year’s legislation. As of Thursday, 725 people were registered to purchase medical cannabis oil, according to statistics distributed by the Iowa Department of Public Health. MedPharm Iowa hopes to see that figure grow to 12,000 patients able to receive treatment.

No injuries were reported after a fire early this (Sunday) morning heavily damaged the Super 8 Hotel north of Walnut. Doug Reed, with Pottawattamie County Emergency Management, told KJAN News the fire was reported at around 6:40-a.m., with smoke and flames visible. Reed said the first crews on the scene confirmed the assessment. Hotel management advised all 31 rooms were occupied, but everyone got out safely and was accounted for.

Doug Reed, w/Pott. County EMA, points out where the fire is believed to have started.

Firefighters were able to get a quick knock down of the flames, and were on the scene hours later making sure hot spots were doused in the adjacent structure to the north. Reed said late Sunday morning, that crews were making some “trench cuts” in the roof, and pulling the ceiling down in some areas, to ventilate the smoke. Reed said a dozen agencies were on the scene, including nine fire departments (Walnut, Atlantic, Marne, Oakland, Hancock, Harlan, Avoca and Shelby), the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol, and Pott. County EMA. There was a total of 36 trucks and 75 personnel working the scene. The Minden Fire Department was enroute for “Mobile Air Support,” to supply fresh air packs for the firefighters. Reed said several tanker trucks made repeated water shuttle operations from sources in Walnut to the fire scene. By 9:30-a.m., 8,000 gallons of water was on location, with more on the way. There were no fire hydrants nearby to draw from.

Reed said the fire is believed to have started on the north side of the pool area. The cause the fire won’t be determined until an investigator with the State Fire Marshal’s Office is able to make an assessment. Water was provided by the Cenex Store in the area of the Hotel, and coffee was made available from Emma Jeans Restaurant, across the way from the Hotel. Roberto Jimenez, from Galveston, Texas, was staying in the hotel while working on the Elite Octane Ethanol Plant in Atlantic. He told reporters he woke around 6-a.m. to the smell of smoke in his room, and thought at first someone was having a barbecue, but soon realized the smoke was coming from elsewhere. He got locked out of his room in the process, and was unable to grab about $3,000 worth of electronic equipment uses for his job.

Jimenez said when he came outside in only his shorts, he saw flames shooting out of the pool area. He ran out barefoot and without a jacket, but one was given to him to keep warm.  (Ric Hanson/photos)

Firefighters from Walnut, Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn have been dispatched to a hotel fire north of Walnut, at the Super 8 hotel. The calls for Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn went out at around 7:18-a.m. No other details are currently available.

Firefighters from Walnut, Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn have been dispatched to a hotel fire north of Walnut, at the Super 8 hotel. The calls for Atlantic, Marne and Elk Horn went out at around 7:18-a.m.  No other details are currently available.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Prosecutors say a federal prison has been sentenced to more jail time for being found with synthetic marijuana while behind bars. Official say 32-year-old Ivan Antonio Cervantes was sentenced Wednesday to 18 additional months in prison and two years of supervised release. The sentenced is to be served after his current 70-month sentence for another felony drug offense.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Police in Des Moines are investigating a fatal shooting on the city’s east side. Des Moines police say in a news release that the shooting happened just before 10:30 p.m. Friday. Officers responding to the area where the shooting was reported found a man already dead at the scene. Police have not released the victim’s name. No arrests had been reported by late Saturday morning.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A $40 million renovation is expected to begin soon on a landmark historic hotel in downtown Des Moines. The Des Moines Register reports that the 101-year-old Hotel Fort Des Moines will be turned into a Hilton Hotel boutique inn. Hawkeye Hotels purchased the Hotel Fort Des Moines in 2015 for $4 million. A Hawkeye official says interior demolition is expected to begin in the next 30 to 60 days.

BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) — Work is nearly complete on a $50 million sports complex in eastern Iowa that includes soccer and baseball fields, hardwood courts and an entertainment center. The Quad-City Times reports that the new TBK Bank Sports Complex in Bettendorf sprawls across 76 acres. It’s being developed by BettPlex LLC and its founder Doug Kratz. The complex’s marketing director says it will open May 4 with a baseball tournament.

Fremont County Sheriff Kevin Aistrope reports the Fremont County K9 Unit tried to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation, Saturday evening, but the vehicle fled from deputies on 120th Street, from Bluff Road. Deputies pursued the vehicle reaching speeds of 100mph on Western Avenue going northbound into Bartlett (IA).

In Bartlett, the suspect vehicle went out of control, skidded through an intersection and slowed down before coming to a stop on 205th Avenue. Deputies were able to apprehend 46-year old Brian Robert Vanderpool, of Thurman, IA.

Additional charges from the pursuit include Possession of Methamphetamine, Marijuana, and Drug Paraphernalia. Vanderpool was also cited for Driving Suspended, Reckless driving and traffic violations during the pursuit. He was transported to the Fremont County Law Enforcement Center being held on $2,600 bond.

Brian Vanderpool (Fremont Co. S/O photo)

A traffic stop on a speeding vehicle in Fremont County, Saturday, resulted in the arrest of a passenger in the car, 21-year old Joseph Holland, of Bellevue, NE. Holland was charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Marijuana/1st offense, and Possession of Schedule 4 Controlled Substances/1st offense. Holland was transported to the Fremont County Jail. The driver of the vehicle was cited and released.

Holland’s arrest occurred at around 2:45-p.m. following the traffic stop on a vehicle by the Fremont County K9 Unit on southbound I-29 near Percival. The vehicle was traveling 104-mph in a 70 zone. Deputies detected the strong odor of controlled substances coming from the vehicle and a subsequent search resulted in the discovery of marijuana and a Schedule IV controlled substance.

Joseph Holland