10 Things to Know About Florida's Medical Marijuana Bill

June 09, 2017

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Legislature on Friday lastly permitted a invoice establishing a framework for the state’s constitutional modification increasing medical marijuana. The modification, permitted by 71 % of voters in November, states that legal guidelines should be in place by July three and enacted three months later.

Here are some highlights:

Conditions Covered

Epilepsy, continual muscle spasms, most cancers and terminal situations have been allowed underneath payments handed in 2014 and 2016. The modification now consists of HIV and AIDS, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress dysfunction, ALS, Crohn’s illness, Parkinson’s illness, a number of sclerosis and comparable situations.

Patients & Caregivers

Patients and caregivers should be 21 and over. If a affected person is a minor, a caregiver should be licensed. Both should additionally obtain an identification card. Advocates nonetheless would love to see caregivers not topic to penalties if they've to administer marijuana within the case of an emergency.

No Smoking

Smoking medical marijuana stays prohibited regardless of public demand. John Morgan, the driving pressure behind getting the modification on the poll final 12 months and handed, stated the one place the place smoking is banned is in public locations and intends to sue.

Products

Besides vaping, medical marijuana merchandise will be bought as edibles (so long as it's a meals product and doesn't market or attraction to kids), oils, sprays or tinctures. Vaping cartridges, particularly whole-flower merchandise, should be in a tamper-proof container.

Patient Supplies

Patients could obtain an order for 3 70-day provides earlier than having to go to a physician once more to get re-examined. A doctor should recertify a affected person a minimum of as soon as each 30 weeks as a substitute of as soon as each 90 days.

No Waiting Period

The requirement affected person be within the care of an authorized physician for 90 days has been eliminated. The ready interval, which was part of the final two payments signed by Gov. Rick Scott, got here underneath extra scrutiny when cannabis was prolonged final 12 months to terminal sufferers. Also, the certification course for docs has been diminished from eight hours to two.

Snowbirds Welcome

Seasonal residents –those that reside in Florida a minimum of 31 straight days every year, keep non permanent residence and are registered to vote or pay revenue tax in one other state– will probably be eligible to obtain medical marijuana.

More Treatment Centers

There will probably be 10 further medical marijuana remedy facilities by October. Five will probably be awarded by August 1 to nurseries that have been narrowly defeated when the unique distributors have been chosen in December 2015. Of the opposite 5 that will probably be awarded by October, one will go to a bunch of black farmers with citrus growers given choice to two others. By the top of the 12 months there might be as many as 19 remedy facilities.

New License Requirements Relaxed

Instead of a nursery needing to be in enterprise for 30 years, any Florida enterprise that has been working 5 or extra years and has a medical director on employees can file an software.

Growing Market

There is a cap of 25 retail services per medical marijuana remedy middle nevertheless it permits for 4 extra outlets per 100,000 sufferers with that cap topic to expire in 2020. Four extra facilities will probably be licensed per 100,000 sufferers. The state forecasts 472,000 sufferers in 5 years.

10 Things to Know About Florida's Medical Marijuana Bill

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