Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
While Florida politicians have butted heads over how to regulate the growing medical marijuana industry this year, Tom Murphy and Michael Welch have been busy working behind the scenes to try to ensure their company gets a piece of it.
Murphy, 71, and Welch, 79, are two of the founders of Gulf Coast Canna Meds, a burgeoning medical marijuana company in St. Petersburg that wants to distribute cannabis products to patients in Florida. They're just one of many groups in Florida eager to be part of this growing new medical industry. But that's easier said than done.
While Florida voters have overwhelmingly voted to make medical marijuana legal, it's been up to the Legislature to translate how it will work. To many, it may seem like a basic humanitarian issue for patients who want simple and affordable access to medical marijuana – but it's not. There's a lot at stake.
"We're the guys on the outside looking in," said Murphy, a former beer distributor who retired to St. Pete Beach. "We learned that the small business man didn't stand much of a chance in Tallahassee with the bills that were being discussed. We're small business people. We're not these deep-pocketed cartels. We're the free enterprise people. The mom and pops."
Medical marijuana is projected to become a $1 billion industry in Florida within the next three years. But only seven companies have been licensed by the state to produce, cultivate and sell it. They are responsible for providing patients who suffer from debilitating conditions with a medicinal alternative to prescription drugs. Often described as the "cartels," Florida's seven licensed cannabis companies have millions in investment behind them. They donated more than a half-million dollars in campaign contributions and employ well-known lobbyists in Tallahassee. Some have started to open dispensaries.
The bills that materialized in the House and Senate toward the end of the legislative session this year did not bode well for folks like Murphy and Welch, or advocates like attorney John Morgan, who all support an open and free market for medical marijuana. Either bill, if passed into law, would have continued to limit the number of companies licensed to cultivate and sell cannabis products.
"Honestly both bills are extraordinarily problematic for establishing a free market," said Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida For Care, an organization founded in 2014 to advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana under Amendment 2. Gulf Coast Canna Meds is an active member of Florida For Care.
Pollara and other advocates are pushing legislators to hold a special session in Tallahassee to iron out the issues for medical marijuana laws. "The big question for people like Tom and Michael is when will the market open up? It will eventually, but when it does, will there be an opportunity for more players or will the cartels have had such a head start that there's no room?"
If a potential special session doesn't bare results, it will be up to the Florida Department of Health to outline regulations for the industry this summer. Pollara said that is problematic, too.
"Unless the Department of Heath officials become thought leaders over night, I think having flawed bills is better than inaction," he said.
But Murphy and Welch aren't giving up. They hope to raise $2 million this year to help fund lobbyist efforts and capital investment for their company. They've met with business groups in St. Petersburg and have started speaking at community events around Tampa Bay to raise awareness of Gulf Coast Canna Meds and education around marijuana as a medicinal tool.
"It's been hard in Florida to have this conversation which amazes me because we're not the first to push through these kind of laws," said Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. Steinocher's met with the Canna Meds team and others in the medical marijuana industry that want to build their business in St. Petersburg. "At the chamber, we've been identifying industries that really fit in St. Pete, and life sciences are a major player here. We're young in talking about this industry, but it's definitely a life science initiative. I was impressed by the Gulf Coast Canna Meds group and the work they want to do here in our community."
Gulf Coast Canna Meds has a small office on Central Avenue and they have plans for a warehouse space in the arts and industrial district nearby.
The company was started after Murphy lost both his mother and wife to cancer. He's recruited a team he calls "ordinary people" who believe in the medicinal use of marijuana to treat debilitating diseases. It's a diverse group. The other members of the team are former business executives, real estate brokers, veterans, health care professionals, pharmacists, doctors, nurses and marketers. Last year, the group raised a half million dollars in just 60 days, which helped fund the lobbyists they hired during session this year.
We're still moving forward as much as we can," Murphy said, meaning the company is still raising funds and meeting with others in the industry from other states. Unlike Pollara, they're willing to take their chances with the Department of Health. "A bad bill is worse than no bill at all."
Welch says that Department of Health would be an "easier adversary" than the legislature. They haven't ruled out litigation as a option to get their voice heard.
"The patient is the most important person in this whole chain of events," but is often the one forgotten about in legislation, said Welch, a former advertising and marketing executive who also lives on St. Pete Beach. "That's the whole reason why we're here."
Who can get medical marijuana in Florida?
Existing state law lets terminally ill patients buy and use full-strength marijuana in the form of vapor oils, capsules and lotions. Certain other patients, including children with cancer and severe epilepsy, use low-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis. While lawmakers and health officials write new marijuana laws that must go into effect this summer, the Florida Department of Health has left it up to doctors to decide whether they will also recommend cannabis to qualified patients diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition listed in Amendment 2, like Lou Gehrig's disease, cancer, epilepsy, Crohn's disease, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or PTSD.
How to get it?
Patients must receive a "recommendation" from a certified doctor in Florida who has been treating them for at least three months. Then patients can visit one of the seven licensed companies in the state to purchase a variety of marijuana products. The Department of Health requires patients to pay for and have a state identification card. Medical insurance policies don't cover the cost of medical marijuana products, and customers could pay from $30 to $250 on average a month. Most companies offer delivery services.
What can I get from a store or delivery service?
Medical marijuana products are offered in two forms in Florida: a low-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) product, which has less of the chemical that causes a euphoric high, and a CBD (cannabidiol) cannabis oil. Products come in the form of tincture oils, oral sprays and vaporizer cartridges that are used in an e-cigarette or vapor pen. Buying "flower," or the bud of the plant sold in states where people can smoke it recreationally, is not currently legal in Florida. Nor are edible cannabis products.
What will change?
Florida lawmakers are considering enacting laws that would cherry-pick from various other states where medical cannabis is legal. Like New York, Florida favors a vertical integration model where companies grow, process and sell cannabis. The Florida House wants to increase the current seven licenses by six when the state registers 150,000 patients. The Senate proposes 12 licenses plus four more for every 75,000 patients. Florida lawmakers have not proposed limits on the number of dispensaries each company can open. Delivery sales will also likely be allowed. New laws would go into effect in July if passed into law during a special session in May. If not, it will be up to the Florida Department of Health to come up with rules and regulations for the industry by July.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Retirees on St. Pete Beach have big plans for the medical marijuana industry | Tampa Bay Times
Author: Justine Griffin
Contact: Contact Us | Times Publishing Inc.
Photo Credit: EVE EDELHEIT
Website: Tampa Bay, Florida news | Tampa Bay Times/St. Pete Times
Murphy, 71, and Welch, 79, are two of the founders of Gulf Coast Canna Meds, a burgeoning medical marijuana company in St. Petersburg that wants to distribute cannabis products to patients in Florida. They're just one of many groups in Florida eager to be part of this growing new medical industry. But that's easier said than done.
While Florida voters have overwhelmingly voted to make medical marijuana legal, it's been up to the Legislature to translate how it will work. To many, it may seem like a basic humanitarian issue for patients who want simple and affordable access to medical marijuana – but it's not. There's a lot at stake.
"We're the guys on the outside looking in," said Murphy, a former beer distributor who retired to St. Pete Beach. "We learned that the small business man didn't stand much of a chance in Tallahassee with the bills that were being discussed. We're small business people. We're not these deep-pocketed cartels. We're the free enterprise people. The mom and pops."
Medical marijuana is projected to become a $1 billion industry in Florida within the next three years. But only seven companies have been licensed by the state to produce, cultivate and sell it. They are responsible for providing patients who suffer from debilitating conditions with a medicinal alternative to prescription drugs. Often described as the "cartels," Florida's seven licensed cannabis companies have millions in investment behind them. They donated more than a half-million dollars in campaign contributions and employ well-known lobbyists in Tallahassee. Some have started to open dispensaries.
The bills that materialized in the House and Senate toward the end of the legislative session this year did not bode well for folks like Murphy and Welch, or advocates like attorney John Morgan, who all support an open and free market for medical marijuana. Either bill, if passed into law, would have continued to limit the number of companies licensed to cultivate and sell cannabis products.
"Honestly both bills are extraordinarily problematic for establishing a free market," said Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida For Care, an organization founded in 2014 to advocate for the legalization of medical marijuana under Amendment 2. Gulf Coast Canna Meds is an active member of Florida For Care.
Pollara and other advocates are pushing legislators to hold a special session in Tallahassee to iron out the issues for medical marijuana laws. "The big question for people like Tom and Michael is when will the market open up? It will eventually, but when it does, will there be an opportunity for more players or will the cartels have had such a head start that there's no room?"
If a potential special session doesn't bare results, it will be up to the Florida Department of Health to outline regulations for the industry this summer. Pollara said that is problematic, too.
"Unless the Department of Heath officials become thought leaders over night, I think having flawed bills is better than inaction," he said.
But Murphy and Welch aren't giving up. They hope to raise $2 million this year to help fund lobbyist efforts and capital investment for their company. They've met with business groups in St. Petersburg and have started speaking at community events around Tampa Bay to raise awareness of Gulf Coast Canna Meds and education around marijuana as a medicinal tool.
"It's been hard in Florida to have this conversation which amazes me because we're not the first to push through these kind of laws," said Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. Steinocher's met with the Canna Meds team and others in the medical marijuana industry that want to build their business in St. Petersburg. "At the chamber, we've been identifying industries that really fit in St. Pete, and life sciences are a major player here. We're young in talking about this industry, but it's definitely a life science initiative. I was impressed by the Gulf Coast Canna Meds group and the work they want to do here in our community."
Gulf Coast Canna Meds has a small office on Central Avenue and they have plans for a warehouse space in the arts and industrial district nearby.
The company was started after Murphy lost both his mother and wife to cancer. He's recruited a team he calls "ordinary people" who believe in the medicinal use of marijuana to treat debilitating diseases. It's a diverse group. The other members of the team are former business executives, real estate brokers, veterans, health care professionals, pharmacists, doctors, nurses and marketers. Last year, the group raised a half million dollars in just 60 days, which helped fund the lobbyists they hired during session this year.
We're still moving forward as much as we can," Murphy said, meaning the company is still raising funds and meeting with others in the industry from other states. Unlike Pollara, they're willing to take their chances with the Department of Health. "A bad bill is worse than no bill at all."
Welch says that Department of Health would be an "easier adversary" than the legislature. They haven't ruled out litigation as a option to get their voice heard.
"The patient is the most important person in this whole chain of events," but is often the one forgotten about in legislation, said Welch, a former advertising and marketing executive who also lives on St. Pete Beach. "That's the whole reason why we're here."
Who can get medical marijuana in Florida?
Existing state law lets terminally ill patients buy and use full-strength marijuana in the form of vapor oils, capsules and lotions. Certain other patients, including children with cancer and severe epilepsy, use low-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis. While lawmakers and health officials write new marijuana laws that must go into effect this summer, the Florida Department of Health has left it up to doctors to decide whether they will also recommend cannabis to qualified patients diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition listed in Amendment 2, like Lou Gehrig's disease, cancer, epilepsy, Crohn's disease, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or PTSD.
How to get it?
Patients must receive a "recommendation" from a certified doctor in Florida who has been treating them for at least three months. Then patients can visit one of the seven licensed companies in the state to purchase a variety of marijuana products. The Department of Health requires patients to pay for and have a state identification card. Medical insurance policies don't cover the cost of medical marijuana products, and customers could pay from $30 to $250 on average a month. Most companies offer delivery services.
What can I get from a store or delivery service?
Medical marijuana products are offered in two forms in Florida: a low-THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) product, which has less of the chemical that causes a euphoric high, and a CBD (cannabidiol) cannabis oil. Products come in the form of tincture oils, oral sprays and vaporizer cartridges that are used in an e-cigarette or vapor pen. Buying "flower," or the bud of the plant sold in states where people can smoke it recreationally, is not currently legal in Florida. Nor are edible cannabis products.
What will change?
Florida lawmakers are considering enacting laws that would cherry-pick from various other states where medical cannabis is legal. Like New York, Florida favors a vertical integration model where companies grow, process and sell cannabis. The Florida House wants to increase the current seven licenses by six when the state registers 150,000 patients. The Senate proposes 12 licenses plus four more for every 75,000 patients. Florida lawmakers have not proposed limits on the number of dispensaries each company can open. Delivery sales will also likely be allowed. New laws would go into effect in July if passed into law during a special session in May. If not, it will be up to the Florida Department of Health to come up with rules and regulations for the industry by July.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Retirees on St. Pete Beach have big plans for the medical marijuana industry | Tampa Bay Times
Author: Justine Griffin
Contact: Contact Us | Times Publishing Inc.
Photo Credit: EVE EDELHEIT
Website: Tampa Bay, Florida news | Tampa Bay Times/St. Pete Times
