Florida May Make Telehealth Services for Medical Marijuana Permanent
Via High Times/Florida Politics
Update: Telemedicine extended 60 days through 9/5/20
Click to read the Full Article below:
Telehealth services that were made available to Florida’s medical marijuana patients due to the coronavirus pandemic may become a permanent option...
That’s according to the web publication Florida Politics, which reported this week that the temporary provision first established at the outset of the COVID-19 outbreak—and then extended in May—might become a fixture in the state’s medical cannabis program...
Read moreFlorida Cannabis Market Booms Despite...
Despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Florida’s medical marijuana industry continues to surge, with sales remaining well above pre-pandemic levels....
Read more
Telemedicine (for Recertifications) has been extended Again
Read more @
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/328771-telemedicine-extended-for-medical-marijuana-narcotics
FL Legislature kills THC caps for medical marijuana
THC cap for medical marijuana patients under 21 dies in Florida House
Read more here: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/marijuana/article241175681.html#storylink=cpy
From Miami Herald’s Samantha Gross
Read moreTHC Caps? Jose Oliva wants one on all forms of medical marijuana
THC cap? Jose Oliva wants one on all forms of medical cannabis
Flower and concentrates would be affected.
https://floridapolitics.com/archives/319268-thc-cap-jose-oliva
Read moreState of Florida doubles down on its defense of medical marijuana oligarchies
In a case that could create a major upheaval in the state’s pot industry, health officials on Thursday asked the Florida Supreme Court to uphold a 2017 law that carried out a constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana.
Lawyers for the Department of Health argued that, in creating and passing the law, the Florida Legislature carried out its “constitutional prerogative to serve as the state policymaker and to protect the welfare of the citizenry.”
The state agency urged the Supreme Court to overturn a ruling by the 1st District Court of Appeal that said a key part of the law conflicted with the 2016 constitutional amendment, approved by 71 percent of Florida voters.
The controversy is centered on a key component of the law that established a “vertical integration system” in which a limited number of companies that receive medical marijuana licenses must handle all aspects of the business, including growing, processing and distributing products. The alternative to vertical integration would be to allow companies to play different roles, potentially leading to more players in the industry.
Read more HERE.
There were many pot bills filed in the Legislature this year. Will any be heard?
As the Legislature reaches the halfway point of the 2020 session, no committee has yet to hear any of the wide range of bills filed to address a list of issues in Florida’s medical marijuana program.
Marijuana advocates are frustrated and people in the industry are left scratching their heads.
2019 was an eventful year for cannabis, but without a constitutional amendment to be implemented or the prodding of Gov. Ron DeSantis to make moves, there is little motivation for leadership to take up marijuana bills.
▪ Bill to waive the $75 medical card fee for patients who are veterans.
This bill would exempt veterans from having to pay fees to attain, replace or renew a medical marijuana card. The idea was brought up by Broward Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer as an amendment to an existing marijuana bill during the 2019 legislative session but failed to make it onto the bill.
This year, the bill was filed in the Senate by Tampa Democrat Janet Cruz and in the House by Riverview Democrat Adam Hattersley, who is a Navy veteran.
Neither version of the bill has been heard in committee.
▪ Bill to eliminate the vertically integrated business model in Florida’s medical marijuana law, undo the cap on the number of licenses and legalize marijuana for adult use.
This jam-packed set of bills filed by St. Petersburg Republican Sen. Jeff Brandes and Orlando Democrat Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, includes a variety of policies that would reshape the marijuana industry.
The bill would legalize adult use of marijuana for people over 21, order the courts to expunge criminal records of people with certain marijuana-related offenses and open up the current medical marijuana business model.
The current model maintains that a license holder must grow, process, test and sell their product without any subcontractors or middle men.
Rep. Anthony Sabatini, R-Howey-in-the-Hills, also has a bill that addresses the medical marijuana business model and lifts the cap on licenses the state can issue.
None of the bills have been heard.
Read more at the Miami Herald