Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Smoke it if you've got it.
A bill filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes Wednesday to scrap the existing regulatory framework for medical marijuana would let patients registered with the state's Compassionate Use Registry smoke the medicinal herb.
"It specifically allows it," the St. Petersburg Republican said in a phone interview several hours after filing the bill. "Somebody is going to sell raw bud, and someone is going to smoke it. Does it make sense to arrest someone with stage IV cancer? Ultimately, that is how most people are going to consume it."
It's one of several changes in the 62-page Senate Bill 614, which proposes a total rewrite of the existing regulatory scheme created by the Department of Health over the last two years. That scheme has been criticized for creating a state-sponsored system that favors seven companies that have been granted licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana.
"People want an open market, reasonable access and competition in the marketplace," Brandes said.
His proposal shares some things with Senate BIll 406 proposed by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, two weeks ago, but it differs dramatically in other ways. Both bills were introduced to come up with a regulatory framework for Amendment 2, which 71 percent of Florida voters approved in November.
"The most important thing we can do is to ensure that patients have access to this medicine. That is what Amendment 2 is all about," said Dr. Mark Moore, a Tallahassee anesthesiologist who started MedCAn, a medical marijuana treatment clinic. "The Brandes Bill streamlines physician regulations and breaks the current licensees' grip over the right to open dispensaries. This will allow more physician involvement and more availability of medical cannabis for our patients."
The amendment, which took effect Jan. 3, greatly expands who can receive medical marijuana – from children and terminally ill to any patient suffering from a number of debilitating illness, including cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, Parkinson's and similar illnesses.
But it still requires the Legislature and Department of Health to come up with rules and regulations to enact the amendment.
Current law only allows the dispensing of low-THC cannabis to patients with certain diseases that cause seizures and full-strength marijuana to terminal patients. The Department of Health said it is the responsibility of each qualified physician on the registry to follow the state law and constitution in deciding if medical marijuana is the appropriate treatment for their patient.
It also only allows dispensaries to sell to patients non-smokable products: tablets, tincture or syringe, or oil that can be used with a vaporizer.
As of Wednesday, 2,673 patients and 514 physicians were on the Compassionate Use Registry.
The Florida Constitution makes smokable medical marijuana legal, said Ben Pollara, the campaign manager for United For Care, the organization that got Amendment 2 over the finish line. However, the inclination of the Legislature is to try to ban smoking in the course of Amendment 2, he said.
"Smoking is a method of consumption within the power of Legislature or DOH to prohibit, but I don't think that prohibiting the sale of dried flower marijuana is within their authority," Pollara said.
It would be difficult to enforce such a ban, he said. "What are they going to do, go door to door asking people how they are consuming their legal medical marijuana?"
The two senators' bills offer a stark contrast to how their authors envision the expansion of the medical marijuana industry in Florida.
Some folks find that troubling.
"The people who pushed Amendment 2 as a physician-driven, medical-driven proposition now appear to be pushing for a California/Colorado model," said Steven Vancore, a spokesman for Trulieve, a Quincy-based licensee that was first to open a dispensary in Tallahassee.
Bradley's bill embraces current regulations to some degree while allowing for some modest expansion of vendors over the next several years, ultimately allowing 20 new vendors once the registered patient population hits 500,000.
Some elements of his bill show that Bradley was listening to what voters wanted during public hearings on the amendment.
For example, his bill eliminates a 90-day waiting period for terminal patients seeking marijuana. His bill also doubles the supply a doctor can order for a patient from 45 to 90 days. It also would cut required training for doctors from 8 to 4 hours.
Brandes said his bill more closely "encapsulates the intent of voters" who overwhelmingly approved Amendment 2 in November. Seventy-one percent of voters said yes to expanding medical marijuana to a far broader range of patients and ailments than allowed under current law.
For Pollara, respect for the doctor/patient relationship is foremost. Both do a good job, he said. But Bradley wants to require that dosages be spelled out in amounts and methods.
Brandes sticks closer to the plain language of the amendment, Pollara said.
Also, Brandes' bill allows for a greater expansion of the market with the segmentation of the business, pushing vertical integration to the wayside. Bradley's bill keeps that structure in place. Whoever meets the requirements of the licensing process and can pay for licenses and bonds can play.
On the number of licenses issued, Brandes prefers to allow the market to dictate who can enter the medical marijuana industry, Pollara said. His bill would break the market up into segments where growers could sell to processors and retailers.
It would only restrict the number of retail outlets in a county to no more than one for every 25,000 residents and leaves the location of dispensaries to local governments.
Bradley's bill doesn't limit the number of dispensaries each licensee can open.
"I like Brandes's bill a lot better because it starts on the premise of let's scrap the old law and build a new one," Pollara said. "Bradley's bill is status quo plus."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Brandes Bill Would Allow Patients To Smoke Medical Marijuana
Author: Jeffrey Schweers
Contact: Tallahassee Democrat
Photo Credit: Chris Young
Website: Tallahassee Democrat
A bill filed by Sen. Jeff Brandes Wednesday to scrap the existing regulatory framework for medical marijuana would let patients registered with the state's Compassionate Use Registry smoke the medicinal herb.
"It specifically allows it," the St. Petersburg Republican said in a phone interview several hours after filing the bill. "Somebody is going to sell raw bud, and someone is going to smoke it. Does it make sense to arrest someone with stage IV cancer? Ultimately, that is how most people are going to consume it."
It's one of several changes in the 62-page Senate Bill 614, which proposes a total rewrite of the existing regulatory scheme created by the Department of Health over the last two years. That scheme has been criticized for creating a state-sponsored system that favors seven companies that have been granted licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana.
"People want an open market, reasonable access and competition in the marketplace," Brandes said.
His proposal shares some things with Senate BIll 406 proposed by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, two weeks ago, but it differs dramatically in other ways. Both bills were introduced to come up with a regulatory framework for Amendment 2, which 71 percent of Florida voters approved in November.
"The most important thing we can do is to ensure that patients have access to this medicine. That is what Amendment 2 is all about," said Dr. Mark Moore, a Tallahassee anesthesiologist who started MedCAn, a medical marijuana treatment clinic. "The Brandes Bill streamlines physician regulations and breaks the current licensees' grip over the right to open dispensaries. This will allow more physician involvement and more availability of medical cannabis for our patients."
The amendment, which took effect Jan. 3, greatly expands who can receive medical marijuana – from children and terminally ill to any patient suffering from a number of debilitating illness, including cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, Parkinson's and similar illnesses.
But it still requires the Legislature and Department of Health to come up with rules and regulations to enact the amendment.
Current law only allows the dispensing of low-THC cannabis to patients with certain diseases that cause seizures and full-strength marijuana to terminal patients. The Department of Health said it is the responsibility of each qualified physician on the registry to follow the state law and constitution in deciding if medical marijuana is the appropriate treatment for their patient.
It also only allows dispensaries to sell to patients non-smokable products: tablets, tincture or syringe, or oil that can be used with a vaporizer.
As of Wednesday, 2,673 patients and 514 physicians were on the Compassionate Use Registry.
The Florida Constitution makes smokable medical marijuana legal, said Ben Pollara, the campaign manager for United For Care, the organization that got Amendment 2 over the finish line. However, the inclination of the Legislature is to try to ban smoking in the course of Amendment 2, he said.
"Smoking is a method of consumption within the power of Legislature or DOH to prohibit, but I don't think that prohibiting the sale of dried flower marijuana is within their authority," Pollara said.
It would be difficult to enforce such a ban, he said. "What are they going to do, go door to door asking people how they are consuming their legal medical marijuana?"
The two senators' bills offer a stark contrast to how their authors envision the expansion of the medical marijuana industry in Florida.
Some folks find that troubling.
"The people who pushed Amendment 2 as a physician-driven, medical-driven proposition now appear to be pushing for a California/Colorado model," said Steven Vancore, a spokesman for Trulieve, a Quincy-based licensee that was first to open a dispensary in Tallahassee.
Bradley's bill embraces current regulations to some degree while allowing for some modest expansion of vendors over the next several years, ultimately allowing 20 new vendors once the registered patient population hits 500,000.
Some elements of his bill show that Bradley was listening to what voters wanted during public hearings on the amendment.
For example, his bill eliminates a 90-day waiting period for terminal patients seeking marijuana. His bill also doubles the supply a doctor can order for a patient from 45 to 90 days. It also would cut required training for doctors from 8 to 4 hours.
Brandes said his bill more closely "encapsulates the intent of voters" who overwhelmingly approved Amendment 2 in November. Seventy-one percent of voters said yes to expanding medical marijuana to a far broader range of patients and ailments than allowed under current law.
For Pollara, respect for the doctor/patient relationship is foremost. Both do a good job, he said. But Bradley wants to require that dosages be spelled out in amounts and methods.
Brandes sticks closer to the plain language of the amendment, Pollara said.
Also, Brandes' bill allows for a greater expansion of the market with the segmentation of the business, pushing vertical integration to the wayside. Bradley's bill keeps that structure in place. Whoever meets the requirements of the licensing process and can pay for licenses and bonds can play.
On the number of licenses issued, Brandes prefers to allow the market to dictate who can enter the medical marijuana industry, Pollara said. His bill would break the market up into segments where growers could sell to processors and retailers.
It would only restrict the number of retail outlets in a county to no more than one for every 25,000 residents and leaves the location of dispensaries to local governments.
Bradley's bill doesn't limit the number of dispensaries each licensee can open.
"I like Brandes's bill a lot better because it starts on the premise of let's scrap the old law and build a new one," Pollara said. "Bradley's bill is status quo plus."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Brandes Bill Would Allow Patients To Smoke Medical Marijuana
Author: Jeffrey Schweers
Contact: Tallahassee Democrat
Photo Credit: Chris Young
Website: Tallahassee Democrat
