West Virginia Code 16A-3-4 – Confidentiality
(a) Patient information. — The bureau shall maintain a confidential list of patients and caregivers to whom it has issued identification cards. All information obtained by the bureau relating to patients, caregivers and other applicants shall be confidential and not subject to public disclosure under chapter twenty-nine-b of this code, including specifically the following:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16A-3-4
- Act: means the West Virginia Medical Cannabis Act and the provisions contained in §. See West Virginia Code 16A-2-1
- Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health within the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16A-2-1
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Medical cannabis: means cannabis for certified medical use as set forth in this act. See West Virginia Code 16A-2-1
- Medical cannabis organization: means a dispensary, grower, or processor. See West Virginia Code 16A-2-1
- practitioner: means a doctor of allopathic or osteopathic medicine who is fully licensed pursuant to the provisions of either §. See West Virginia Code 16A-2-1
- Serious medical condition: means any of the following, as has been diagnosed as part of a patient's continuing care:
(A) Cancer. See West Virginia Code 16A-2-1
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) Individual identifying information about patients and caregivers.
(2) Certifications issued by practitioners.
(3) Information on identification cards.
(4) Information provided by the West Virginia State Police under section two, article five of this chapter.
(5) Information relating to the patient’s serious medical condition.
(b) Public information. — The following records are public records and shall be subject to the Freedom of Information Act, under chapter twenty-nine-b of this code:
(1) Applications for permits submitted by medical cannabis organizations.
(2) The names, business addresses and medical credentials of practitioners authorized to provide certifications to patients to enable them to obtain and use medical cannabis in this state. All other practitioner registration information shall be confidential and exempt from public disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
(3) Information relating to penalties or other disciplinary actions taken against a medical cannabis organization or practitioner by the bureau for violation of this act.