New bill would change Florida’s medical cannabis program
A new bill would be the largest change to Florida’s medical cannabis program since it started five years ago. The bill would cut the cost of participating in the state’s medical cannabis program by altering license terms and how doctors’ appointments work. It would also make several other significant changes, including creating new testing practices for cannabis products.
“This is a true bipartisan effort to ensure patients have access to a safe medical marijuana program as demanded by an overwhelming majority of Florida voters in 2016,” Florida Rep. Spencer Roach said, “by putting common-sense safeguards in place to develop standards, increase transparency and keep [medical cannabis] products away from children.”
Christopher Cano, executive director of Central Florida NORML, told Cannabis News Box that he’s not a fan of this bill. He said the bill has parts that are a “clear overreach” and could do harm to the medical cannabis program.
“For example, doctors onced were tasked with taking a much longer certification course to recommend cannabis. It was one of the barriers that resulted in the limited number of recommending physicians we have today,” Cano said. “Now these representatives propose to take us back to a much longer course. What group of doctors approached them with a compelling cry for more education when it comes to recommending cannabis to patients? The answer is none.”
Cano said Florida’s medical cannabis program “was corrupted in its infancy by the powers that be.” He said Florida needs to break up the vertical integration of seed to sale businesses. Cano believes small businesses that can serve to create a “more robust market” with unique products have been stifled by the structure of existing businesses that put out over-priced and subpar products.
“Social equity in the industry remains a spectre that is spoken of and never realized, which is evident in the current licensing of a black farmer for Florida, who will have to pay almost triple what the existing MMTCs paid for their licenses,” Cano said. “The needed changes for Florida’s medical marijuana program are numerous and HB 679 fails to address the vast majority of them. Which again, goes to show this bill is not for our patients’ benefits. “
Cano said another big problem with Florida’s medical cannabis program is that many feel afraid to participate in it. He said educators and state employees have been fired from their jobs for using cannabis despite being legal and legitimate patients.