Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Alachua County is becoming a hub for Florida's growing medical marijuana industry - and should continue embracing the role, both for the sake of patients and the local economy.
CHT Medical, a subsidiary of Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, recently opened in Alachua. It is the county's first operating medical marijuana manufacturer and one of just seven licensed statewide.
One of the other businesses licensed to grow and dispense marijuana, San Felasco Nurseries' Green Solution, is also located in Alachua County. While the number of licenses is expected to grow - and should - the early advantage provides an opportunity for our community to become known as a center for medical marijuana production and research.
The University of Florida has already been tasked by the state with studying the effects of the low-THC medical marijuana that state lawmakers approved in 2014. Now that voters have legalized regular-strength medical marijuana with the passage of Amendment 2 in November, UF would be the perfect place for research into its health effects.
Unfortunately, marijuana's federal classification as a Class 1 substance impedes research efforts. There is no justification for keeping marijuana classified among drugs such as heroin with no medical use, although that seems unlikely to change under a president who nominated an attorney general harshly critical of marijuana use.
The Trump administration should at least continue to follow its predecessor's approach in letting states have less restrictive marijuana laws than the federal government. Florida is one of 28 states that have legalized medical marijuana, while eight states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana.
Amendment 2 passed convincingly in Florida with 71 percent of the vote. In a state where prescription painkillers have been such a problem, it makes sense that voters would support an alternative that can help people experiencing extreme pain without the same risk for addiction and overdose.
The amendment legalized marijuana as treatment for a list of 10 specific diseases including AIDS and cancer as well as similar conditions as determined by a doctor. Yet rules proposed this month by the Florida Department of Health would give authority to the state Board of Medicine to decide what additional conditions qualify.
Thankfully Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who used to represent Alachua County, has introduced legislation that would keep those decisions in the hands of doctors. Bradley's measure would also nearly quadruple the number of licensed marijuana dispensing organizations once the number of patients registered for treatment reaches 500,000.
While that might be bad news for the local businesses with one of the few licenses available today, it is good news for patients. It's also good to see that Gainesville and Alachua County have rejected the moratoriums on marijuana dispensaries that some communities have passed, instead putting in place common-sense regulations such as requiring them to be a certain distance from schools.
The needs of patients should always be front and center in public-policy debates about medical marijuana. But it is hard to overlook the economic potential of marijuana in Florida, especially as a large number of retirees continue to move to Florida and agriculture such as citrus struggles.
Given the rapid change in marijuana laws across the country and growing public support for these changes, Florida might in the next several years consider decriminalization or even full legislation. Alachua County should continue to position itself as a center of the marijuana industry and research to take full advantage of such changes.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Editorial - County Should Be Marijuana Hub
Author: Nathan Crabbe
Contact: (352) 378-1411
Photo Credit: Rob C. Witzel
Website: The Gainesville Sun
CHT Medical, a subsidiary of Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, recently opened in Alachua. It is the county's first operating medical marijuana manufacturer and one of just seven licensed statewide.
One of the other businesses licensed to grow and dispense marijuana, San Felasco Nurseries' Green Solution, is also located in Alachua County. While the number of licenses is expected to grow - and should - the early advantage provides an opportunity for our community to become known as a center for medical marijuana production and research.
The University of Florida has already been tasked by the state with studying the effects of the low-THC medical marijuana that state lawmakers approved in 2014. Now that voters have legalized regular-strength medical marijuana with the passage of Amendment 2 in November, UF would be the perfect place for research into its health effects.
Unfortunately, marijuana's federal classification as a Class 1 substance impedes research efforts. There is no justification for keeping marijuana classified among drugs such as heroin with no medical use, although that seems unlikely to change under a president who nominated an attorney general harshly critical of marijuana use.
The Trump administration should at least continue to follow its predecessor's approach in letting states have less restrictive marijuana laws than the federal government. Florida is one of 28 states that have legalized medical marijuana, while eight states have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana.
Amendment 2 passed convincingly in Florida with 71 percent of the vote. In a state where prescription painkillers have been such a problem, it makes sense that voters would support an alternative that can help people experiencing extreme pain without the same risk for addiction and overdose.
The amendment legalized marijuana as treatment for a list of 10 specific diseases including AIDS and cancer as well as similar conditions as determined by a doctor. Yet rules proposed this month by the Florida Department of Health would give authority to the state Board of Medicine to decide what additional conditions qualify.
Thankfully Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who used to represent Alachua County, has introduced legislation that would keep those decisions in the hands of doctors. Bradley's measure would also nearly quadruple the number of licensed marijuana dispensing organizations once the number of patients registered for treatment reaches 500,000.
While that might be bad news for the local businesses with one of the few licenses available today, it is good news for patients. It's also good to see that Gainesville and Alachua County have rejected the moratoriums on marijuana dispensaries that some communities have passed, instead putting in place common-sense regulations such as requiring them to be a certain distance from schools.
The needs of patients should always be front and center in public-policy debates about medical marijuana. But it is hard to overlook the economic potential of marijuana in Florida, especially as a large number of retirees continue to move to Florida and agriculture such as citrus struggles.
Given the rapid change in marijuana laws across the country and growing public support for these changes, Florida might in the next several years consider decriminalization or even full legislation. Alachua County should continue to position itself as a center of the marijuana industry and research to take full advantage of such changes.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Editorial - County Should Be Marijuana Hub
Author: Nathan Crabbe
Contact: (352) 378-1411
Photo Credit: Rob C. Witzel
Website: The Gainesville Sun
