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Law Florida

Florida's Medical Marijuana Patients Are Totally Screwed Now
Remember when 72 percent of Floridians voted to usher in a new era of open access to medical marijuana? That triumphant moment for medical weed was just in November, but for Florida patients this morning, it feels like a lifetime ago.

Late this past Friday, a bill to regulate the new weed industry imploded in Tallahassee. Then medical marijuana's two biggest champions — über-lawyer John Morgan and United for Care campaign consultant Ben Pollara — viciously turned on each other in a spicy Twitter beef.

Now the fate of medical marijuana access lies in the hands of Gov. Rick Scott's Department of Health, which has already signaled it will enact even more restrictive rules. The whole situation is likely to end up in court, meaning hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars will be wasted — and patients, in the meantime, still won't have the easy access to marijuana that voters overwhelmingly backed in November.

It's a mess, and it rests squarely in the laps of state legislators who couldn't even agree on a highly flawed bill to do what voters asked them to do. Late Friday, Senate and House leaders threw in the towel on medical pot regulations.

The biggest hangup was on whether the rules should set a limit on how many storefront dispensaries each company with a medical pot license could open. The House and Senate also fought over whether to tax those dispensaries.

Although the two bodies will return today to try to hash out a final budget bill (which could still be vetoed by Scott), they've officially given up on setting rules for medical marijuana.

This past Saturday, Morgan, the wealthy attorney who bankrolled the pot amendment, laid the blame squarely on Pollara, his former right-hand man in leading the fight for medical weed. Morgan compared Pollara to Fredo from the Godfathermovies and accused his former deputy of "selling out" by backing dispensary limits.

Pollara hit back that he was only ever paid by the same groups that pushed for the medical marijuana amendment in the first place. "I have been compensated over the last four and a half years for my work as campaign manager for United for Care and executive director of Florida for Care," Pollara said. "I have always viewed any financial stake in the marijuana industry as a clear conduct with my roles as an advocate and leader of these two organizations."

As the beef escalated on Twitter — with Morgan, a likely candidate for governor, calling Pollara "bought and paid for" and saying the failed bill was "all on him" — medical marijuana backers were left stunned and wondering what comes next.

The short answer: nothing good. Without a bill from Tallahassee in place, Florida's DOH will be required to set up its own rules for the medical pot industry by July.

The DOH already set up a draft version of its own rules in January, and they were slammed by pro-pot advocates as overly restrictive. The DOH's rules would barely expand access already available in Florida by allowing patients with a few more debilitating conditions such as AIDS and cancer to obtain the medicine; it would prevent doctors from making their own diagnoses about other conditions that need marijuana and would ban smoking the drug.

Morgan has already promised to sue the state over the rules. But that legal fight won't end quickly, and patients who need the drugs will be left waiting even longer.

"The Florida legislature chose political gamesmanship over the will of 71 percent of voters,” Pollara told Politico this weekend. "The real losers are sick and suffering Floridians."

What a bunch of clowns....sigh. Vote early, vote often, vote them OUT. Oh, also sue them. :-)
 
I hate these asshats. I should have known they would do anything to keep it from happening.
 
Ben Pollara’s emotional mea culpa on John Morgan split, marijuana bill failure
Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida For Care, spoke out Monday afternoon over the well-publicized split with Orlando uber-attorney John Morgan over the failed medical marijuana implementation bill.

On Friday night, the Florida Legislature killed HB 1397, a bill to enact the medical marijuana amendment approved by 71 percent of voters in November. Morgan, who spearheaded and bankrolled much of Amendment 2 in both 2014 and 2016, puts blame for the bill’s failure squarely on Pollara’s shoulders.

“Ben Pollara fucked the patients,” Morgan told FloridaPolitics.com bluntly Saturday morning. “The person who strengthened the cartels (the seven existing licenses permitted to cultivate and distribute medical marijuana in Florida and opposed Florida for Care as the Legislature debated implementing Amendment 2) the most is Ben Pollara.”

In a lengthy, emotional email Monday Pollara explained some of the motives behind what happened, and why the bill ultimately died — taking some (qualified) responsibility.

Much of the friction behind the final approval of the bill came in part from disagreement over the number of allowable medical marijuana treatment centers under the law. Lawmakers could not agree on how to best balance the needs of patients with that of licensees — refer to by some as “cartels” — authorized by the state to produce and distribute medical pot.

“The initial bill out of the House was horrendous,” Pollara wrote. “Partially drafted by Mel Sembler and Drug-Free America, it was severely restrictive and not only banned smokable, edible, and vapable forms of marijuana, but it also added onerous restrictions on patients, such as a 90- day waiting period and recertification period.”

Pollara said the House then took a position that strengthened the position existing licensees, allowing them to open unlimited storefronts around the state. On the other hand, the Senate attempted to limit the number of retail facilities a single MMTC (Medical Marijuana Treatment Center) could operate, so that “a more diverse, freer market” could develop.

“I advocated strongly for the Senate position, believing — as I still do — that it would result in better access for patients,” Pollara said. Unfortunately, it set off a “very intense lobbying battle on both sides” leading to neither side coming to terms in the end.

“Morgan is livid over this and blames me entirely for the failure to pass legislation this session,” Pollara continued. “I accept that I deserve some of that blame … However, the choices we faced were ‘bad,’ ‘worse’ and ‘the worst.’”

What happened, Pollara wrote, was “the worst.” And either way, there would be litigation.

Pollara expressed deep sadness over both the failure of the bill, and Morgan’s take on what happened.

“I love and respect John, without whom we would have never passed Amendment 2,” he said. “We’ve had very heated arguments in private over policy and strategy in the past, but in the end, we recovered and kept our eyes on the goal.”

Though “devastated” by Morgan’s anger, Pollara said he thoroughly understands it, and if their relationship never heals, “it will not erase the many years of fighting together [for] an incredibly important cause.”

Despite that, Pollara vows to continue the fight for “those principles until the will of 71 percent of Floridians is finally realized in this state.”

Signed “with love and sorrow,” Pollara concludes his letter by apologizing to all those he let down.

“And I want to — from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of everyone at Florida for Care — thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do to advance this cause.”

Read it Pollara’s entire letter here:

Follow link in the headline to read the letter...worth the time, particularly if you live in FL. What a mess.
 
Here is a comment left on the article I posted above. I thought this FL author to have clear insight into the situation and worth posting:

Disgusted by FL Politicos
May 8, 2017 at 7:05 pm


These Florida politicians need to be voted OUT of office for subverting the will of 71% of voters. The fact that The Semblers and Drug Free America Foundation helped draft the horrendous House bill should have signaled which way this train wreck was going to go.

Both the House and Senate bills were OVERLY restrictive. Is this the “nanny” state? In what world does a politician get to dictate how people ingest medical marijuana? The “non-smokable” form of cannabis provision was ridiculous. Likewise the 90-day waiting period and “re”-certification. And likewise, the mandate that doctors “prescribe” versus “recommend”.

It only took the clowns in Tallahassee 5 pages of legislation to approve hard liquor sales in grocery stores, but they wrote 84 pages of overly-restrictive nonsense in an attempt to over-regulate a PLANT that has never killed a single human being in all of recorded history.

Alas, at the end of the day it came to down money and greed, seemingly the only real motivators at the statehouse. The seven-grower “cartel” wanted to open unlimited dispensaries and sell substandard oils, tinctures, pills, and k-cup style vaporizer packs filled with fan leaf trim and sugar leaf trim (NOT cannabis flower). Ben was wise to point out that by limiting the number of dispensaries the cartels could open, it would force the need for more licenses for more growers, thereby spurring competition, lower prices, better quality, and lower prices. But that would be good for patients, NOT for greedy politicians & special interests.

Now it goes to the DOH and Christian Bax, the cronyism/nepotism hire with absolutely NO provable experience in the medical cannabis industry whatsoever, whose presence seems to be to ensure medical cannabis fails. AWESOME. I hope they replenished their coffers for the incoming mountain of lawsuits.

With the stranglehold Big Pharma and The Semblers have on this state, no one should be surprised at this outcome. And while the governor continues to complain about the “opiate epidemic” plaguing the state, one solution staring him in the face has failed to be implemented. In states with FUNCTIONING medical cannabis programs, opiate overdoes are down as much as 25%. But the only motivator in Tallahassee is money. People be damned.

Democracy in Florida: bought and paid for.​
 
I like John Morgan. He's a good guy, for an attorney. He knows Rick Scott is a twat, and probably will ignore his request.
 
I'd like to remind everyone that, although Florida legislators have proven themselves inept, using derogatory terms or name calling, in this or any other political thread on the forum, is not allowed. There are other ways to get your displeasure and your opinion known. Name calling only leads to an ugly tone. Let's remember to keep it civil. :cool:
 
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Calls grow in Florida for special legislative session on medical marijuana
Gov. Scott's office said through a spokesperson that it continues to review all options

By Joe Reedy, The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A leader behind last year’s passage of a constitutional amendment on medical marijuana in Florida has joined growing calls for Gov. Rick Scott and legislative leaders to hold a special session to finalize rules for its implementation.

Orlando attorney John Morgan, who lobbied for Amendment 2’s passage through the group United for Care, said it is Scott’s obligation to convene a special session so that the Legislature can finish work on a bill putting the enacting rules in place.

“Government in Florida is controlled by one party. What you’ve got to understand is medical marijuana is not an issue of party. Diseases don’t pick political parties,” Morgan said in a video . “It was all about money in the end and not about you.”

Gov. Scott’s office said through a spokesperson that it continues to review all options.

If a special session isn’t held, the Department of Health would need to come up with rules by July 3 and have them implemented by October. Amendment 2 allows higher-strength marijuana to be used for a wider list of medical ailments It was enacted on Jan. 3 after being passed by 71 percent of voters last November.
(cont)

I say take these FL politicians, tie their left hands together, give them knives, and have a cage match. Winner takes all!
 
Miamians Throw "Medical Marijuana Party" With 50 Pounds of Weed, Get Arrested
Most sensible Americans these days believe in ending the War on Drugs. The facts are clear that low-level drug arrests ruin lives and tear families apart. Some day, selling weed in Florida will no longer feed thousands of new prisoners into the state's broken criminal justice system.

But that day has not yet come, and until ganja is truly legal in the Sunshine State, it's not a great idea to throw a gigantic, open-air "medical marijuana" celebration fueled by 50 pounds of weed. That's exactly what a group of Miamians attempted to do this past weekend by throwing what sounds like among the greatest stoner sessions in human history — only to get busted in a house that sat a mere six blocks from Miami Police headquarters. (cont)
 
Florida Health Department: No Smokeable Marijuana

Florida is rapidly shaping up as a test case in whether the term “medical marijuana” necessarily includes actual herbaceous cannabis. On May 15, the state’s Health Department ordered Quincy-based Trulieve dispenary to stop selling a “whole flower” product—officially intended for use in vaporizers, but which can, of course, also be smoked. Trulieve just last week began sales of a product dubbed Entourage,—named for the so-called “entourage effect,” the synergistic workings of the various compounds in the cannabis flower. The product is meant to be used in the Volcano vaporizer, reports the Orlando Weekly. The Health Department’s cease-and-desist letter came after local media reports about the sales of Entourage.

“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 in the letter to Trulieve.

Current Florida law bans smoking of medical marijuana but allows use of vaporizers. The Entourage product comes in “vaporizer cups,” but the cannabis inside “can be removed with minimal effort,” according to the cease-and-desist letter.

Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers responded with a statement saying the company was “surprised by the letter” but is “immediately and completely complying with the department’s wishes while evaluating our options.”

The Health Department action comes as Florida’s legislature is considering enabling legislation on last year’s victorious medical marijuana initiative, Amendment 2. A current version of the law would ban herbaceous cannabis, in spite of voter intent. Low-THC strains can be used by patients suffering from cancer, epilepsy or chronic seizures under the state’s CBD-specific law passed in 2014. The law was later expanded to include patients with terminal conditions, and allow use of more potent strains.

John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled Amendment 2, has pledged to sue the state over the smoking issue, according to The Cannabist.

So, its bad enough that elected representatives are shafting the electorate and ignoring the clear, democratically expressed, will of the people and their own amended constitution, now this has bounced to a bunch of bureaucrats responsive to NOBODY. How is this happening.

I have personally read the amendment and personally read the text of the regulation/law that defines "marijuana" for this amendment and there can be NO DOUBT in anyone who is literate in English that these FL politicians and faceless bureaucrats are directly violating their own constitution.

Vote early, vote often, vote these bums out of office and support Morgan as he sues their balls off.
 
Florida: Special Session Needed to Solve Medical Marijuana Quagmire
Amendment 2 won with 71% of the vote last November and Florida lawmakers are still arguing over how to best establish the state medical marijuana system.

The Florida legislative session ended on May 5th without elected officials establishing common ground on how to best regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry. Amended on the final day of Florida’s legislative session, the House modified H. B. 1397 to impose a restriction of 100 retail dispensaries for each of the state’s medical marijuana operators – while the Senate proposed 10.

Now, a special session is necessary. And provided state representatives refuse to come back for a special legislative session to negotiate and finalize the rules governing Amendment 2, that responsibility would then be determined by the Florida Department of Health.

Either through a special legislative session or the Department of Health, Floridians need to establish their medical marijuana regulations by July 3, 2017, in order to meet the October deadline for implementing Amendment 2.

Concerned the health department would adopt overly restrictive regulations, Florida’s Speaker of the House Richard Corcoran was critical of the department’s ability to govern the program. On Wednesday, Corcoran spoke with WFLA-FM radio where he clearly made his frustration evident: “To just leave it to bureaucrats sitting over at the Department of Health I think would be a gross injustice.”

Anxious for elected officials to return to the state capital, Corcoran concluded, “I do believe and support the notion that we should come back and address and finalize dealing with medical marijuana.”

Currently, there are 15 Representatives that have openly called for a special session, “either on social media or in interviews.” According to the Tampa Bay Times, the below list represents Florida’s politicians standing up for the 71% of the electorate that voted for medical marijuana:

  • Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa (just joined the calls on Tuesday)
  • Corcoran, in an interview: “I think there should be a special session on medical marijuana.”
  • House Majority Leader and medical marijuana bill sponsor Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, in an interview: “I obviously support a special session. This is something that’s best done by the Legislature rather than leaving it to the Department of Health.”
  • Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, in a letter to Negron: “The Senate should agree that the drive of implementation language must be patient focused, not the interests of existing license holders.”
  • Sen. Darryl Rouson, in a memo to lawmakers: “Let us not forgo our duties to our constituents and the Constitution of Florida.”
  • Rep. Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, in line to be House speaker in 2020-22, in an interview: “I hope that we can reconvene in a special session, which should include ample time for public input, to implement the will of the voters, so that patients and entrepreneurs alike may access the marketplace.”
  • Medical marijuana bill sponsor Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, on Twitter: “It’s 95 percent done. Let’s finish the job!”
  • Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, in line to be Senate president in 2018-20, on Twitter: “I agree with (Richard Corcoran). I support a special session to address medical marijuana implementation.”
  • Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, on Twitter: “I stand with (Richard Corcoran)! Call the special session, and let’s do what 71% of Floridans asked us to do back in November.”

Easy to see who are the good guys and who are....NOT!
 
Baron23 said:
there can be NO DOUBT in anyone who is literate in English that these FL politicians and faceless bureaucrats are directly violating their own constitution.
Click to expand...
Is there an active NORML group in Florida? They're the ones (or similar organizations) that go out and petition and create lawsuits against the rulings in these scenarios. They also get the word out to the public. Seems like someone is dropping the ball. :twocents:
 
momofthegoons said:
Is there an active NORML group in Florida? They're the ones (or similar organizations) that go out and petition and create lawsuits against the rulings in these scenarios. They also get the word out to the public. Seems like someone is dropping the ball. :twocents:
Click to expand...
Hi Mom - I have referenced this to some folks who live in FL and never got a clear answer. Not sure if NORML had much to do with the campaign for this amendment. There was a FL only based group, United for Care, but I have really not seen NORML's name evoked AFAIR.

I am surprised to not see suits already filed by NORML, the ACLU (these rules are in voilation of their own constituion), and of course Morgan and United for Care. I don't even care if Morgan stands to make a killing off of MMJ. If he can beat these asshole FL politicians into line so that the suffering of FL citizens may be alleviated, he deserves every nickel.

FL is really pissing me off.....and I haven't lived there in 20 years. LOL
 
DoH !


Department of health :naughty2:
Don't they hand out free condoms there? Buncha dildos that know nothing of cannabis writing an amendment on the matter... I HOPE John Morgan is getting ready to rip someone a new one. How is it almost June and nothing has been resolved. And the DoH:horse:Has until July correct. Give the people what they need and voted for already.
Buncha bullies swinging around their meat.

DoH!
iu



EdiT: does any one know why if over 70 percent voted ON the written amendment why that amendment isn't already in place. I don't understand this process.


It's sad what Florida is going through. My GMA lives in Florida and I mentioned to her to go on docmmj and get a recommendation. Try and ween her off some of the harmful opioids she takes. She basically "can't do anything" because she is zombied out... Rick Scott being in with Big pharma and this whole fiasco makes you think :mental::yikes:
 
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Looks like Florida will get at least one more medical marijuana distributor


By The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — An administrative ruling has paved the way for at least one more medical marijuana distributing organization in Florida.

Division of Administrative Hearings Judge John Van Landingham ruled on Tuesday that Plants of Ruskin and Tornello Landscape/3 Boys Farm are equally qualified to receive licenses, but if the state’s Department of Health would approve only one, then it should go to Tornello/3 Boys.


Department of Health spokesman Brad Dalton said they are reviewing the order and in the process of determining their next steps. There are currently seven distributing organizations.

This was the last of the administrative challenges since the five original licenses were decided in December of 2015. Two additional were awarded last year due to either settlements or an administrative ruling.
 
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