Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
The Florida Legislature adjourned its 2017 session this week without approving an implementation bill for Amendment 2, the constitutional measure approved by 71 percent of voters last November.
That's bad news for patients, supporters of medical marijuana say. They're calling on the state to schedule a special session to revisit implementation guidelines.
A stalemate between the House and the Senate left the bill dead on the floor over an issue that would have affected market competition and entrepreneurial opportunity.
Without guidance from the Legislature on how to govern medical marijuana use, the Florida Department of Health is left to implement the law on time. For now, that means limited expansion of an existing medical marijuana system that, until Amendment 2 passed, only provided full-strength marijuana to dying patients.
Rules proposed earlier this year included several provisions that medical marijuana activists rallied against, including a 90-day physician waiting period for new patients, no new licenses for growers and lack of doctor discretion in prescribing the drug.
Critics of the proposed DOH rules worried they would stifle market options and limit access to patients.
Those rules will be challenged in court, according to Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida for Care, the group that advocated for Amendment 2 and lobbied for favorable implementation guidelines.
One of Pollara's top goals was to increase the number of licenses the state issued to open the market for competition and better serve patients.
Lawmakers were within one compromise of passing legislation. The sole sticking point was whether to limit the number of dispensaries medical marijuana license holders could open. Pollara wanted the number capped to force the state to issue more licenses, rather than maintaining what he describes as a "cartel" of seven medical marijuana monopolizers.
The two chambers refused to compromise on dispensary limits, killing any chance of approving implementation language this year.
For now, there aren't a lot of options, according to Richard Blau, an administrative law attorney for GrayRobinson.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/southfl...edical-marijuana-rules-are-back-in-limbo.html
Author: Janelle Irwin
Contact: https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/about-us/contact
Photo Credit: James MacDonald
Website: https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida?t=1494437361
That's bad news for patients, supporters of medical marijuana say. They're calling on the state to schedule a special session to revisit implementation guidelines.
A stalemate between the House and the Senate left the bill dead on the floor over an issue that would have affected market competition and entrepreneurial opportunity.
Without guidance from the Legislature on how to govern medical marijuana use, the Florida Department of Health is left to implement the law on time. For now, that means limited expansion of an existing medical marijuana system that, until Amendment 2 passed, only provided full-strength marijuana to dying patients.
Rules proposed earlier this year included several provisions that medical marijuana activists rallied against, including a 90-day physician waiting period for new patients, no new licenses for growers and lack of doctor discretion in prescribing the drug.
Critics of the proposed DOH rules worried they would stifle market options and limit access to patients.
Those rules will be challenged in court, according to Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida for Care, the group that advocated for Amendment 2 and lobbied for favorable implementation guidelines.
One of Pollara's top goals was to increase the number of licenses the state issued to open the market for competition and better serve patients.
Lawmakers were within one compromise of passing legislation. The sole sticking point was whether to limit the number of dispensaries medical marijuana license holders could open. Pollara wanted the number capped to force the state to issue more licenses, rather than maintaining what he describes as a "cartel" of seven medical marijuana monopolizers.
The two chambers refused to compromise on dispensary limits, killing any chance of approving implementation language this year.
For now, there aren't a lot of options, according to Richard Blau, an administrative law attorney for GrayRobinson.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/southfl...edical-marijuana-rules-are-back-in-limbo.html
Author: Janelle Irwin
Contact: https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/about-us/contact
Photo Credit: James MacDonald
Website: https://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida?t=1494437361
