Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
The Florida Department of Health can move quickly when it wants to. No sooner had News Service of Florida's Dara Kam revealed a medical-marijuana vendor in Quincy was selling a "whole flower" medical cannabis product specifically for use in vaporizers, than the health department slapped a cease-and-desist order on the business.
It took less than a week.
"Licensed dispensing organizations have a responsibility to ensure their product is not one that can easily be transitioned into a smokable form. Therefore, whole flower products are not permitted," state Office of Compassionate Use Director Christian Bax wrote to Trulieve on Monday.
"Whole flower" products can easily be smoked in pipes, bongs, or joints –- all illegal means of consumption in Florida.
Kim Rivers, Trulieve's CEO, said she doesn't get it, but she will comply fully. She said she explains the letter of the law to patients. "We are very clear with our patients that smoking is currently illegal under current Florida law, however vaporizing is specifically allowed," she told News Service of Florida.
"We feel very strongly that having products available that allow patients to have a choice and to benefit from the 'entourage' effect, also available to physicians to make recommendations to patients, is critical," Rivers told Kam last week. "So if that means we're pushing the envelope, we've had a form of whole-flower vaporizer available from the day we opened. This has always been part of our product line and will continue to be in the future."
The vaporizer, however, is sold only through Trulieve's online site, not on the business' premises.
Meanwhile, patients and their families are outraged the state health department would take action against Trulieve, one of the original dispensaries chosen to provide medical marijuana in Florida.
"Now what am I supposed to do?" asked Miriam McKenna, who told Sunshine State News her husband is diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer. "Giving my husband comfort is my whole life. Trulieve has been like an oasis in the desert. And now what?"
Darren Wiscowicz, who suffers from non-service-related PTSD, said his doctor recommended Trulieve's "entourage" product, which comes in "small, wire mesh bags sold in vaporizer cups," as Kam has described them.
"How long has Florida had this medical marijuana law on the books?" a frustrated Wiscowicz asks. "Three years? And it still isn't sorted out."
Certainly, Orlando attorney John Morgan, who paid much of the bill during the last two election cycles to put the medical marijuana amendment on the ballot, expected the product to be delivered in whatever form it would suit patients best.
Rivers is exploring her options, writes Kam.
Bax said in his letter none of this should have come as any surprise to the Quincy vendor because he "conveyed to Trulieve in a June 28, 2016 meeting on this matter, dispensing organizations may not dispense easily breached products containing whole flower."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Patients Left in the Lurch after Crackdown on Smokeable Product | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News
Author: Nancy Smith
Contact: Contact | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News
Photo Credit: dankdepot
Website: Florida Politics and Business News - Tallahassee News | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News
It took less than a week.
"Licensed dispensing organizations have a responsibility to ensure their product is not one that can easily be transitioned into a smokable form. Therefore, whole flower products are not permitted," state Office of Compassionate Use Director Christian Bax wrote to Trulieve on Monday.
"Whole flower" products can easily be smoked in pipes, bongs, or joints –- all illegal means of consumption in Florida.
Kim Rivers, Trulieve's CEO, said she doesn't get it, but she will comply fully. She said she explains the letter of the law to patients. "We are very clear with our patients that smoking is currently illegal under current Florida law, however vaporizing is specifically allowed," she told News Service of Florida.
"We feel very strongly that having products available that allow patients to have a choice and to benefit from the 'entourage' effect, also available to physicians to make recommendations to patients, is critical," Rivers told Kam last week. "So if that means we're pushing the envelope, we've had a form of whole-flower vaporizer available from the day we opened. This has always been part of our product line and will continue to be in the future."
The vaporizer, however, is sold only through Trulieve's online site, not on the business' premises.
Meanwhile, patients and their families are outraged the state health department would take action against Trulieve, one of the original dispensaries chosen to provide medical marijuana in Florida.
"Now what am I supposed to do?" asked Miriam McKenna, who told Sunshine State News her husband is diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer. "Giving my husband comfort is my whole life. Trulieve has been like an oasis in the desert. And now what?"
Darren Wiscowicz, who suffers from non-service-related PTSD, said his doctor recommended Trulieve's "entourage" product, which comes in "small, wire mesh bags sold in vaporizer cups," as Kam has described them.
"How long has Florida had this medical marijuana law on the books?" a frustrated Wiscowicz asks. "Three years? And it still isn't sorted out."
Certainly, Orlando attorney John Morgan, who paid much of the bill during the last two election cycles to put the medical marijuana amendment on the ballot, expected the product to be delivered in whatever form it would suit patients best.
Rivers is exploring her options, writes Kam.
Bax said in his letter none of this should have come as any surprise to the Quincy vendor because he "conveyed to Trulieve in a June 28, 2016 meeting on this matter, dispensing organizations may not dispense easily breached products containing whole flower."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Medical Marijuana Patients Left in the Lurch after Crackdown on Smokeable Product | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News
Author: Nancy Smith
Contact: Contact | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News
Photo Credit: dankdepot
Website: Florida Politics and Business News - Tallahassee News | Sunshine State News | Florida Political News