Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Before any discussion on marijuana, medicinal or otherwise, one has to begin with the federal government's classification – marijuana is a Schedule I substance.
This means that the U.S. government through the Controlled Substances Act has defined marijuana as a drug with no currently accepted medical use, the highest potential for abuse, the potential for severe psychological or physical dependence, and one of the most dangerous drugs of all the schedules. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Thus under federal law it is a crime to open, rent or maintain a place of business for purposes of manufacturing, distributing or dispensing marijuana. The caveat for the remainder of this piece is that "legalization" is in reference to only state law.
In 2014, Florida passed what is called the Charlotte's Web Act that legalized low-THC marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy, chronic seizures and chronic muscle spasms. The requirements are that a patient be diagnosed with one of the qualifying conditions, must be a Florida resident and must be a patient for the previous three months of the ordering physician.
The Legislature tasked the state Department of Health with promulgating implementation rules in part because, along with simply making it permissible to obtain low-THC marijuana, there had to be a system of growers and dispensaries in place along with additional guidelines. Dispensing organizations were required to possess a certificate of cultivation issued by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Ultimately, five were selected after an arduous application review process and, after numerous legal challenges, two were added.
In the following year, the state passed legislation that permitted the use of medical cannabis for terminal conditions for which two physicians are required to certify that a patient's condition would be fatal within one year if the condition follows the ordinary course.
With the passage of Amendment 2 to the Florida Constitution in 2016, Florida joined the ranks of states that legalized the use of medical marijuana. Currently, Florida has 1,800 registered patients for low-THC and medical marijuana.
This number is expected to rise dramatically under the implementation of Amendment 2, in part because the amendment lists 10 conditions (cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis) for which it may be available "or other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated."
Under this amendment which was effective on Jan. 3, the DOH has six months to promulgate rules to implement the amendment, and three months after that to fully implement the program. The Florida Legislature has since gotten involved and is making a concerted effort to assist in moving the program to where it needs to be – ensuring that qualified patients are provided with the relief that has been deemed appropriate for the listed condition.
Implementation
The challenge in implementing Amendment 2 is in the period of uncertainty that currently exists. By all appearances the government, including the DOH and the Legislature, is diligently working to make the amendment viable for the state. Physicians will have to navigate the amendment without significant guidance and determine if the patient qualifies for medical marijuana and then presumably wait for the regulations to go into effect.
Amendment 2 states, "A physician shall not be subject to criminal or civil liability or sanctions under Florida law solely for issuing a physician certification with reasonable care to a person diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition." There has been some discussion that this may permit physicians to simply proceed as if there were guidelines already in place, but this should be approached with caution and physicians should probably seek professional legal assistance prior to embarking into this undertaking.
Florida is taking a very deliberate and measured approach in implementing Amendment 2. Some states in which medicinal marijuana is legal have been hasty in implementation and are currently dealing with the consequences of such haste. On any given day, in a variety of media outlets one can find the abuse of medicinal and recreational marijuana in states that either rushed into implementation or were short-sighted and did not fully account for many of the variables, both beneficial and not, associated with the legalization of medicinal marijuana.
Florida, by contrast, is taking the slower approach by looking at other states and learning from their manner of implementation. There is a way for this to work with minimal abuse by doctors and patients, but it is proving to be slow and arduous. The hope is that the result will be a streamlined and effective set of regulations that benefit those who could truly benefit form medicinal marijuana.
To get the ball rolling, the DOH published a "Notice of Development of Rulemaking" on Jan. 17 and provided a preliminary text for rules under Amendment 2. It is brief and seeks to rely on the Charlotte's Web Act statutes and rules. It seeks to keep the limitation on the number of producers and dispensing organizations, and whereas Amendment 2 refers to "other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated, and for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient," the proposed rule text states, "any debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated, as determined by the Florida Board of Medicine."
This will surely generate fevered discussion and debate as the DOH progresses through the rulemaking process.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The Road Less Traveled - Florida's Medicinal Marijuana Journey
Author: Colin M. Roopnarine
Contact: 877-256-2472
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Daily Business Review
This means that the U.S. government through the Controlled Substances Act has defined marijuana as a drug with no currently accepted medical use, the highest potential for abuse, the potential for severe psychological or physical dependence, and one of the most dangerous drugs of all the schedules. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy. Thus under federal law it is a crime to open, rent or maintain a place of business for purposes of manufacturing, distributing or dispensing marijuana. The caveat for the remainder of this piece is that "legalization" is in reference to only state law.
In 2014, Florida passed what is called the Charlotte's Web Act that legalized low-THC marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy, chronic seizures and chronic muscle spasms. The requirements are that a patient be diagnosed with one of the qualifying conditions, must be a Florida resident and must be a patient for the previous three months of the ordering physician.
The Legislature tasked the state Department of Health with promulgating implementation rules in part because, along with simply making it permissible to obtain low-THC marijuana, there had to be a system of growers and dispensaries in place along with additional guidelines. Dispensing organizations were required to possess a certificate of cultivation issued by the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Ultimately, five were selected after an arduous application review process and, after numerous legal challenges, two were added.
In the following year, the state passed legislation that permitted the use of medical cannabis for terminal conditions for which two physicians are required to certify that a patient's condition would be fatal within one year if the condition follows the ordinary course.
With the passage of Amendment 2 to the Florida Constitution in 2016, Florida joined the ranks of states that legalized the use of medical marijuana. Currently, Florida has 1,800 registered patients for low-THC and medical marijuana.
This number is expected to rise dramatically under the implementation of Amendment 2, in part because the amendment lists 10 conditions (cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis) for which it may be available "or other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated."
Under this amendment which was effective on Jan. 3, the DOH has six months to promulgate rules to implement the amendment, and three months after that to fully implement the program. The Florida Legislature has since gotten involved and is making a concerted effort to assist in moving the program to where it needs to be – ensuring that qualified patients are provided with the relief that has been deemed appropriate for the listed condition.
Implementation
The challenge in implementing Amendment 2 is in the period of uncertainty that currently exists. By all appearances the government, including the DOH and the Legislature, is diligently working to make the amendment viable for the state. Physicians will have to navigate the amendment without significant guidance and determine if the patient qualifies for medical marijuana and then presumably wait for the regulations to go into effect.
Amendment 2 states, "A physician shall not be subject to criminal or civil liability or sanctions under Florida law solely for issuing a physician certification with reasonable care to a person diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition." There has been some discussion that this may permit physicians to simply proceed as if there were guidelines already in place, but this should be approached with caution and physicians should probably seek professional legal assistance prior to embarking into this undertaking.
Florida is taking a very deliberate and measured approach in implementing Amendment 2. Some states in which medicinal marijuana is legal have been hasty in implementation and are currently dealing with the consequences of such haste. On any given day, in a variety of media outlets one can find the abuse of medicinal and recreational marijuana in states that either rushed into implementation or were short-sighted and did not fully account for many of the variables, both beneficial and not, associated with the legalization of medicinal marijuana.
Florida, by contrast, is taking the slower approach by looking at other states and learning from their manner of implementation. There is a way for this to work with minimal abuse by doctors and patients, but it is proving to be slow and arduous. The hope is that the result will be a streamlined and effective set of regulations that benefit those who could truly benefit form medicinal marijuana.
To get the ball rolling, the DOH published a "Notice of Development of Rulemaking" on Jan. 17 and provided a preliminary text for rules under Amendment 2. It is brief and seeks to rely on the Charlotte's Web Act statutes and rules. It seeks to keep the limitation on the number of producers and dispensing organizations, and whereas Amendment 2 refers to "other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated, and for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient," the proposed rule text states, "any debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated, as determined by the Florida Board of Medicine."
This will surely generate fevered discussion and debate as the DOH progresses through the rulemaking process.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: The Road Less Traveled - Florida's Medicinal Marijuana Journey
Author: Colin M. Roopnarine
Contact: 877-256-2472
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Website: Daily Business Review