Becoming a Medical Marijuana Patient in Florida

David Bowman

New Member
Summary
Under SB 1030, a "qualified patient" is defined as "a resident of this state who has been added to the compassionate use registry by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 to receive low-THC cannabis from a dispensing organization." Patients must be permanent residents of the state in order for a physician to recommend low-THC cannabis to a patient in Florida. Patients under the age of 18 need two physicians to recommend low-THC cannabis before the minor patient can register with the program. The Florida Department of Health will be issuing regulations that clearly define the enrollment process, which should be issued in late 2014 or sometime in 2015. Patients are not eligible for legal protections prior to enrolling in the program.

What's Legal
Only low-THC cannabis products are available to patients who have a recommendation from their physician for cancer, seizures or severe and persistent muscle spasms, or seizure disorders.

Eligible Conditions
  • cancer;
  • a physical medical condition that chronically produces symptoms of seizures; or
  • a physical medical condition that chronically produces severe and persistent muscle spasms
Application Process
The patient application process is currently being developed by the Florida Department of Health. Please consult with the Dept. of Health for up to date information.

Doctor
The law does not impose restrictions on the type of physician-patient relationship; however, only physicians who have completed required education courses are approved by the state to recommend low-THC cannabis.

Access/Caregivers
The law allows a patient's "legal representative" to assist in the acquisition and administration of low-THC cannabis products; however, the law does not explain how a person becomes the legal representative for the patient. Presumably this protection would extend to parents, legal guardians, and those with power of attorney over the patient.

Consumption
Patients do not have access to low-THC cannabis in dried flower form, nor are they allowed to combust their medicine in order to inhale it.

Age Limits
Patients of any age are eligible; however, patients under the age of 18 must be diagnosed by two physicians, and a concurring diagnosis must be placed in the patient's medical file.

Confidentiality
The are no privacy protections for the patient registry in SB 1030.

Housing
The are not housing protections for patients under SB 1030.

Employment
The are not employment protections for patients under SB 1030.

Insurance
SB 1030 is silent on whether health insurance must provide coverage for low-THC cannabis therapy.

Out of State Patients
Only Florida patients registered with the state are eligible for legal protections under SB 1030.

Source: ASA: Becoming a Patient in Florida
 
This was a bill passed by the Legislature under pressure from parents of children with seizure disorders. The item that did not pass was a citizens initiative for a Constitutional amendment legalizing MMJ in general. The amendment was on course to pass when Sheldon Addelson dumped several million dollars into a scare campaign against it and succeeded in spooking enough low information voters into voting no. We needed at least 60% votes of yes and we only got 57.62%. There is a bill in the Legislature now for a MMJ law but we will see how far that gets but even if it passes the Medicare swindler known as Gov. Scott will probably veto it, we will see. It is a restrictive law that would not allow us to produce our own medicine and would require us to purchase it from those that they choose for us. As always, write and call your representatives.
 
very interesting, i myself just got out of the hospital from another bad seizure and am now taking dilantin prescribed to me 300 mg every night before bed, we will see how it works before i was prescribed phenytoin sodium and it didnt help, i was self-medicating with marijuana and actually documented when i did and didnt have seizures while using marijuana and it really seems to help, especially with my auras which almost felt like i could bring them on myself, even my doctor said there was a correlation between the marijuana helping with my seizures when i showed him my calender of when i used marijuana and when i had seizures, I HATE them, theres no words to explain the feeling of waking up in the hospital, and appparently i punched the nurse in the face while seizing, they had me on a breathing machine and a catheter inside me so i could piss while unconscious, Im a 19 year old active college student ,if you havent`t had a seizure, you have no idea, would really like to see medical marijuana in florida, what kind of doctor would be the one to recommend low-thc cannabis for my seizures?
 
@growersteve, Any doctor in the state of Florida who has taken the required education courses can prescribe for you. You need to ask your doctors if they have taken this course. Good luck on getting some relief! Keep us posted on your situation. I am working on getting my Doc to write for me.
 
Sounds like meds from Big Pharma not a plant.. History of the cigarettes ..A ton of additives to create addicts.
 
Florida new legislation Qualifications are so ridiculous and harmful
Just means more suffering for those that have limited fiance, ability, mobility to have full access to all new ground breaking product that could in fact change or save a life
Maybe mine

"2017 REALLY WAKE UP"

This is rain forest miracle vegetable medicine

Or is that the problem.
Yup that's it like always
Control the product
Control the cash
Control the population

NOW WE HAVE CONTROLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Ok enough

I oppose the new legislation
But its a start

My take on it all

The new legislation means
Continued progression of disease and pain relief because of denied access to all ground breaking products
Continued DEADLY Opioid ingestion
Possible death
Financial burden
Fear of legal action
Freedom of choice to heal my body how i see fit
I could go on


From what i understand Morgan and Morgan has filed or is going to file suit against Florida for not allowing smoking that could lead to full access medicinal use
Medical cannabis - Wikipedia

i do not have complete understanding of the contents of the suit or if its filed yet

Hope they do it and win

In the mean time conducting my own study
Stopping all pharmaceutical medications
Going plant based only meds

So it starts

Day 1 7/7/17

Harlequin and Sour Tsunami crossbreed Harli/Sue 1%thc20%cbd
Strain Highlights
Harle-Tsu, bred by the Southern Humboldt Seed Collective, is a high-CBD hybrid cross between Harlequin and Sour Tsunami. With a CBD content 20 times higher than its THC content, Harle-Tsu brings relief to pain and inflammation without psychoactivity. Harle-Tsu seeds have a 75% chance of expressing its high-CBD characteristics, and indoor plants will finish flowering in 8 weeks.

After completion i will post all results
 
You can’t. Not yet, that is. Although Florida’s Amendment 2 was approved by the voters in November, 2016, the effective date of the measure is January 3, 2017. Qualifying patients” are those diagnosed as having a debilitating medical condition, who have a physician certification and a valid qualifying patient identification card.
But not so fast. You’ll still need someplace to purchase your medical marijuana. “Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC) means an entity that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils, or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses or their caregivers and is registered by the Department.
 
As per the 2023 updated guidelines, to become a medical cannabis patient in Florida, you will need to follow these steps:
  1. Obtain a recommendation from a qualified doctor: Only doctors with an active Florida medical license can recommend medical cannabis to patients. You can find a list of qualified doctors on the Florida Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana Use website.

  2. Register with the Florida Department of Health: Once you have received your recommendation, you will need to register with the Florida Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana Use. You can register online or by mail.

  3. Obtain a Florida Medical Marijuana Card: After your registration is processed, you will receive your Florida Medical Marijuana Card in the mail. This card will allow you to purchase and use medical cannabis from state-licensed dispensaries.
Note: It's important to note that not all conditions are eligible for treatment with medical cannabis in Florida. The list of eligible conditions can be found on the Florida Department of Health's Office of Medical Marijuana Use website.

Source : GreenPot MD
 
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