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Lawmakers talk about June special session
TALLAHASSEE — Anticipating some red ink from Gov. Rick Scott, legislative leaders are preparing for a mid- to late-June special session that will almost certainly include medical marijuana.

All eyes are on Scott, who on Wednesday received the state’s annual spending plan. The governor now has 15 days to decide how to use his line-item veto on the $82.4 billion budget.

But Scott is also under intense pressure to veto a controversial education measure, which carries a price tag of about $400 million. And, while he’s at it, some public school folks want Scott to slash the entire K-12 portion of the budget.

The special session also may address higher education issues, some insiders predict. They’re advising folks not to make any plans during the week of June 19 or possibly the following week.

Whatever else they do, lawmakers are practically guaranteed to also deal with how to carry out the voter-approved constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for patients with debilitating conditions.

“I support a special session to address medical cannabis, and I predict that we will have one,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who took over negotiations with the House on the marijuana measure in the waning days of the session.

House and Senate leaders failed to reach agreement on rules to regulate the industry for doctors, patients and vendors during the regular session that ended earlier this month.

A key sticking point was how many retail outlets the state’s marijuana operators should be able to run. The Senate wanted to cap the number, while the House’s final offer — on the last day of the session — was 100 storefronts per vendor, which essentially killed any hopes for a deal.

But lawmakers have been under intense pressure to hold a special session to deal with the issue. If they don’t, Department of Health “bureaucrats” will be responsible for implementing the amendment, something critics say would be bad for patients and the industry.

heck, these folks in FL are making Maryland's government look absolutely competent....not an easy thing to do.
 
You guys got screwed again. You really need to dump these people you currently have in office.....really need to get rid of these folks...each and every one of them.

Medical marijuana left out of Florida's special legislative session

This week's special legislative session focused on funding for education and economic development won't include medical marijuana, at least for now.

House and Senate leaders remained hopeful that they could strike a deal on the framework for carrying out a voter-approved constitutional amendment that broadly legalizing medical marijuana. But if they don't reach agreement before the special session ends, the Legislature is unlikely to take up the issue later this summer, according to a top senator.

Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced Friday they had agreed on the parameters of a three-day special session, slated to start Wednesday, to address education and economic-development issues.

The special session was also expected to include pot, after lawmakers failed to reach consensus during this spring's regular session on a measure to implement the November constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for patients with a wide range of debilitating medical conditions.

But Scott didn't include marijuana in his call for the Legislature to come back to town.

Even so, the House “has communicated to the ... Senate that this is an issue we believe must be addressed and that we are prepared to expand the call to address the implementation of the constitutional amendment approved by the voters during the 2016 election,” Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, said in a Friday memo to House members announcing the special session.

Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who is slated to take over as president of the Senate late next year, told The News Service of Florida that lawmakers have yet to strike a deal on implementation of the medical marijuana amendment.

Lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a key sticking point —- how many retail outlets the state's marijuana operators would be allowed to run —- during the regular session that ended last month.

The House backed a plan that would limit the number of dispensaries for each operator at 100, while the Senate favored a proposal that would have established a cap of 15 storefronts for each vendor.

The House and Senate remain divided on the issue, Galvano said Friday.

“At this point, it's where, from my knowledge, we're still where we left off on the dispensary issue. I don't have information that that's changed at this point,” he said, adding that House and Senate bills were “very, very close” by the end of the regular session.

The Legislature's failure to pass a marijuana measure prompted calls from critics and supporters of the amendment to address the issue during a special session, something Corcoran and Negron said they supported. Without legislative action, more of the responsibility for the regulatory framework would fall on the state Department of Health.

But Galvano sounded cryptic about the possibility of a separate special session to deal with the regulatory framework for medical marijuana if lawmakers don't agree during next week's session.

“We still want to try to get something resolved next week. If we cannot, I don't know that waiting a month or two is going to make a difference,” he said.

John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled the ballot initiative, encouraged lawmakers to take up the implementation of the amendment, supported by more than 71 percent of voters in November.

“Let's get `er done,” Morgan, who said he was willing to invest up to $100 million in the pot industry, tweeted.

Ben Pollara, who managed the political committee that backed the amendment but who has recently split with Morgan over the dispensary caps, called the absence of the marijuana issue in the special session “a gigantic disappointment.”

“People are going to be outraged by this,” said Pollara, the executive director of Florida for Care, an organization backed by the medical marijuana industry.
 
You guys got screwed again. You really need to dump these people you currently have in office.....really need to get rid of these folks...each and every one of them.

Medical marijuana left out of Florida's special legislative session

This week's special legislative session focused on funding for education and economic development won't include medical marijuana, at least for now.

House and Senate leaders remained hopeful that they could strike a deal on the framework for carrying out a voter-approved constitutional amendment that broadly legalizing medical marijuana. But if they don't reach agreement before the special session ends, the Legislature is unlikely to take up the issue later this summer, according to a top senator.

Gov. Rick Scott, Senate President Joe Negron and House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced Friday they had agreed on the parameters of a three-day special session, slated to start Wednesday, to address education and economic-development issues.

The special session was also expected to include pot, after lawmakers failed to reach consensus during this spring's regular session on a measure to implement the November constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for patients with a wide range of debilitating medical conditions.

But Scott didn't include marijuana in his call for the Legislature to come back to town.

Even so, the House “has communicated to the ... Senate that this is an issue we believe must be addressed and that we are prepared to expand the call to address the implementation of the constitutional amendment approved by the voters during the 2016 election,” Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, said in a Friday memo to House members announcing the special session.

Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who is slated to take over as president of the Senate late next year, told The News Service of Florida that lawmakers have yet to strike a deal on implementation of the medical marijuana amendment.

Lawmakers failed to reach agreement on a key sticking point —- how many retail outlets the state's marijuana operators would be allowed to run —- during the regular session that ended last month.

The House backed a plan that would limit the number of dispensaries for each operator at 100, while the Senate favored a proposal that would have established a cap of 15 storefronts for each vendor.

The House and Senate remain divided on the issue, Galvano said Friday.

“At this point, it's where, from my knowledge, we're still where we left off on the dispensary issue. I don't have information that that's changed at this point,” he said, adding that House and Senate bills were “very, very close” by the end of the regular session.

The Legislature's failure to pass a marijuana measure prompted calls from critics and supporters of the amendment to address the issue during a special session, something Corcoran and Negron said they supported. Without legislative action, more of the responsibility for the regulatory framework would fall on the state Department of Health.

But Galvano sounded cryptic about the possibility of a separate special session to deal with the regulatory framework for medical marijuana if lawmakers don't agree during next week's session.

“We still want to try to get something resolved next week. If we cannot, I don't know that waiting a month or two is going to make a difference,” he said.

John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled the ballot initiative, encouraged lawmakers to take up the implementation of the amendment, supported by more than 71 percent of voters in November.

“Let's get `er done,” Morgan, who said he was willing to invest up to $100 million in the pot industry, tweeted.

Ben Pollara, who managed the political committee that backed the amendment but who has recently split with Morgan over the dispensary caps, called the absence of the marijuana issue in the special session “a gigantic disappointment.”

“People are going to be outraged by this,” said Pollara, the executive director of Florida for Care, an organization backed by the medical marijuana industry.

I really hate them.
 
https://floridacannabiscoalition.com/420-dispensaries-to-be-allowed-in-florida-this-year/

State lawmakers on Wednesday reached agreement on how to put medical marijuana into effect in Florida. The agreement calls for:

10 NEW growers to be licensed this year (total 17 growers)
FIVE more growers to be added for every additional 100,000 patients
Each grower can open up to 25 dispensaries
Edibles & Vaping allowed, Smoking not so much
Link to Full Bill sb006a

The Tampa Bay Times is reporting, along with various other sources that an agreement has been reached on MMJ in Florida.

The agreement, reached Tuesday night after at least a week of closed-door negotiations, calls for 10 new growers to be licensed this year, in addition to the seven that already hold a state license under an existing, limited cannabis program. Five of the new licenses would go to previous applicants who were the next-highest-scoring in each of five reasons across the state, and the other five would go to new applicants, including at least one black farmer, House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, said.

Five new growers would be added for every 100,000 patients, Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who was involved in negotiations tells the Tampa Bay Times.

Lawmakers will also cap the number of dispensaries each grower can open at 25. That was the key sticking point when they failed to reach agreement on marijuana earlier this year. The Senate was pushing for a lower cap, intending to limit the influence of the existing growers, some of whose business models revolve around opening as many as 50 storefronts. The House, meanwhile, wanted no caps, saying that was the free-market approach to starting this new, potentially $1 billion, industry in Florida.

The cap would sunset in 2020, Rodrigues said.

"It accomplishes (the Senate's) goal of restraining the growth initially to see how the market will develop, and then it gives us the ability to make a determination as a Legislature if that has accomplished its goal and if it needs to continue," he said.

It is expected that the deal allows for edibles and "vaping" but not for smoking marijuana, which the House and Senate previously agreed upon.

As well, Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa will receive funding for medical marijuana research under the bill, a Galvano priority.

“Our constitutional duty is to ensure the availability and safe use of medical marijuana in the manner prescribed by Florida voters,” bill sponsor Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said in a statement. “This patient-first legislation will expand access to this medicine, while ensuring safety through a unified regulatory structure for each component of the process from cultivation to consumption.”

In May, during the final hours of their regular legislative session, negotiators failed to reach agreement on key points of a medical marijuana law. But a groundswell of support among the rank-and-file members of the House and Senate, as well as from Speaker Richard Corcoran and activist voices, pushed for lawmakers to address it in a special session.

A final bill was filed Wednesday morning, according to the Senate. Lawmakers in both chambers have said they would not address the issue unless agreement could be reached ahead of time.

There is broad support among lawmakers to pass some sort of legislation after it got 71 percent of voters’ support in November. The voter-approved constitutional amendment directs the state to set up a system for regulating marijuana so patients with a long list of conditions, including HIV/AIDS, cancer, post traumatic stress disorder and epilepsy, can access it.

__________________________________

Finally settled on the decision.

No SMOKING?!

... John Morgan has promised already to sue for that so stay tuned.



Good start?
 
.. John Morgan has promised already to sue for that so stay tuned.

Good.

And good that they at least got off their fat asses and put something in place. So, vape but no smoke. What does that mean...shatter but no herb? PG diluted carts only? What???
 
Yeah I think that's it PG carts only.. which is crap imo. From what I remember truileve was selling a vapor cup which had pulverized flower and was told to shut it down. Could be broken open to smoke. Which I think is none of their business.. but wait it's their BUSINESS.


Why wasn't a grow your own part of the plan. HELLo!!! SUNSHINE STATE!
 
Even with this, it's still a joke. Low THC everything, no flowers, no smoking, no grow your own. Only expensive crap (and I mean crap) that we regulate. :(
_TWD4144.jpg
cups-2.jpg




Sour desiel 25% thc ...
0.3g "vapor cups"
25$ for 3 cups and it lasts 160 4 second enhale?
_TWD9201-3.png

In a rebranded China vape none the less?


Wtf. 0.3g good for 40 hits ... Idk
 
Tallahassee Will Probably Ban Smoking Medical Marijuana Today

When Florida overwhelmingly voted to approve medical marijuana last November, it's a fair bet most of the millions of voters who checked yes on Amendment 2 imagined a future in which sick patients would be free to roll up a joint to smoke away their pain in peace.

Tallahassee isn't interested in that particular future, though. After spending months trying to sabotage medical marijuana by awarding rights to a tiny cartel of politically connected license-holders, legislators today will likely approve rules that outright ban smokable pot.

That fact has infuriated Amendment 2 supporters, including John Morgan, the Tampa superlawyer who bankrolled the legislation. Morgan is already promising a lawsuit if the bill passes as written today.

"I will be suing the state to allow smoke," Morgan writes in a short post on Medium. "It was part of my amendment."

The new rules were hashed out yesterday by House and Senate committees that returned to Tally for a special session after medical marijuana and the state budget stalled during the regular session. The full House and Senate will still have to approve the rules today, but the prospects look good.

The legislators did make a little progress on the other major problem with Florida's medical marijuana industry: the baked-in cartel system that helped tank the first debate on medical pot.

With millions of patients soon to be eligible for the drug, the state to date has granted only seven licenses to companies to grow and sell weed. That number is comically tiny. Massachusetts, with barely a fourth of Florida's population, will soon have hundreds of licensed growers; Colorado has more than 500.

But those seven companies that already have their foot in the door have spent hundreds of thousands lobbying in Tallahassee this year to prevent anyone else from edging into their virtual monopoly.

Lawmakers finally budged on that problem in the rules approved in committee yesterday. They'll call for ten more licenses to be handed out, with one guaranteed to go to a black-owned farm and two mandated for citrus growers; the bill would also cap the number of dispensaries each company can operate at 25.

Seventeen companies is still an absurdly small number for a state as large as Florida. But some advocates praised that piece of the bill for at least making progress.

"While it makes my head hurt that five new [medical marijuana] licenses are literally going to the losers of the previous process, this bill would have the effect of breaking up the cartel system and beginning to provide true access to patients," says Ben Pollara, head of United for Care, which spearheaded Florida's successful medical marijuana campaign.

But almost everyone involved in Amendment 2 agrees the ban on smokable pot is insane. Tally's bill would allow vaping, pills, and tinctures, but why not smoke? Legislators tried to cast it as a health issue.

“Breathing in soot, breathing in ash, carries a definite detriment, which we didn't want to extend to medical marijuana,” Rep. Cary Pigman tells a local TV station. It's worth noting that Pigman had to give up his seat on a House health subcommittee earlier this year after getting popped for drunk driving.

Pollara says that argument is nonsense and banning smokable medical pot clearly goes against the wishes of voters.

"If you've ever met someone who hears the word 'marijuana' and doesn't immediately think of the green, leafy stuff that you smoke, let me know. I've yet to meet one," Pollara says in a text message, adding Morgan's hashtag on the issue: "#NoSmokeIsAJoke."

I can't wait to see John Morgan beat the living shit out of these legislators in court with the actual wording of the Amendment. They deserve it. I believe that above somewhere I cited the cross reference to the law that defines what the term "marijuana" means and there is no way this can honestly be interpreted to allow elimination of whole flower herb as a legal form. Floridians, get radicalized and 86 these anti-democratic, self-entitled, patronizing (expletive deleted by poster....before Mom does it! hahaha).
 
Florida GOP lawmakers shoot down bid to allow smoking of medical marijuana

Published: Jun 8, 2017, 1:56 pm • Updated: 2 days ago Add a Comment

By The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida legislators are spending their second day of a special session wrangling over money for public schools and medical marijuana.

House Democrats on Thursday wanted to allow the smoking of medical marijuana, saying that’s what voters wanted when they approved an amendment last November.


But House Republicans rejected the push and pointed out they are poised to approve a bill that allows vaping of marijuana.

Gov. Rick Scott ordered legislators back to town to boost money for public schools and to set aside more money for his top priorities. But Scott and legislative leaders expanded the agenda of the session to pass a bill that would implement the medical marijuana amendment.

The House and Senate are still at odds over key budget provisions. They have until Friday night to reach a deal.

Well, they did it. Please support Morgan as he sues their bollocks off.
 
Florida: Attorney Plans Lawsuit To Allow Smoking Of Medical Marijuana

There might be some relief in sight for medical marijuana patients in Florida, which has one of the most restrictive, if not absurd, MMJ programs in the country.

Despite the fact that 71 percent of Florida’s population voted to approve an amendment legalizing MMJ, patients are prohibited from smoking any and all cannabis products, as well as forbidden from consuming edibles.

While Republican Governor Rick Scott says he will sign the practically useless MMJ bill, the principle backer of the amendment intends to sue over the law’s ban on smoking.

That man is Orlando attorney John Morgan, who has been steadfast in defending the rights of that 71 percent who voted for the amendment with the expectation that smoking would be one of the obvious ways to consume cannabis.

Morgan, who will file the lawsuit in Leon County, which encompasses the state capital of Tallahassee, has enlisted constitutional law expert Jon L. Mills, Dean Emeritus of the University of Florida’s Levin School of Law, to help in the coming legal battle.

Senate Democrats recently made a last-ditch attempt to get smoking added, citing that nearly 90 percent of people who use MMJ smoke it, but it was voted down.

Why? Because the Republican naysayers insist that there are no scientific studies to show that smoking pot is more effective than other ways of ingesting it. What?!?

Scientific studies are not exactly in abundance in Florida where Governor Scott, a proud climate and science denier, recently vetoed money for marijuana research.

Besides, Republicans are generally not interested in funding scientific studies, much less actually reading them.

When research is available—peer-reviewed and broadly accepted by science and academia—many Republican lawmakers still reject it.

In the case of Florida, no one quite understands what they have against smoking.

“I don’t know why they would object to anyone on their deathbed wanting to use what they wanted to relieve pain and suffering,” Morgan said, according to WLRN. “If they were really concerned about smoking, why don’t they heavily tax cigarettes?”

One Florida GOP Representative, Ray Rodrigues, said: “If he [Morgan] wants to sue us, that it is his prerogative. I am confident it can be defended in front of a judge.”

With vaping allowed in the MMJ bill, Rodrigues and other Republican lawmakers seem not to know or understand the difference between smoking and vaping, or so they say.

“As a non-user, I can’t give you that answer,” said Rodrigues at a hearing last week in Florida.

Even given the example of boiling a liquid in a glass container until it gives off vapor, he still shrugs his shoulders.

“You can ask this question in any format you want, I will continue to give the same answer,” Rodrigues said, smiling.

In other words, Rodrigues, by your own admission, you’re quite oblivious to logic.

With all due respect, these gentlemen don’t have a clue, and their ignorance should not be allowed to ruin the lives of others.

I hope Morgan REALLY gives them a sore tuchas (Yiddish...look it up! LOL). Go, Morgan, go!! :headbang:

From my reading of the law and its cross reference to another law for definition of marijuana, I have no doubt that FL is in the wrong here....but who can tell with activist judges these days.
 
What Florida medical marijuana will look like under proposed rules
The Department last month outlined a procedure where it would give 15 days' notice before adopting a new rule and the public three days to submit comments


By Joe Reedy, The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida health officials have issued their proposed rules to implement the state’s constitutional medical marijuana amendment.

The regulations that were released on Friday by the Department of Health pick up the framework from the bill passed on June 9 by the State Legislature during a special session. The Department last month outlined a procedure where it would give 15 days’ notice before adopting a new rule and the public three days to submit comments.

Under the amendment approved by 71 percent of voters last year, rules must be in place by July 3 and enacted by October. Florida Gov. Rick Scott has said he “absolutely” intends to sign the bill. Scott should be able to sign the bill ahead of the first deadline.

Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambinieri says the department is committed to working collaboratively with the public to establish a patient-centered medical marijuana program.

More on Florida
According to the Department of Health, the state registry now has 16,614 patients. A recent state revenue impact study projects that by 2022 there will be 472,000 medical cannabis patients and $542 million in sales.

Highlights of Florida’s expanded medical marijuana bill:

Conditions Covered
Epilepsy, chronic muscle spasms, cancer and terminal conditions were allowed under bills passed in 2014 and 2016. The amendment now includes HIV and AIDS, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and similar conditions.

Patients & Caregivers
Patients and caregivers must be 21 and over. If a patient is a minor, a caregiver must be certified. Both must also receive an identification card. Advocates still would like to see caregivers not subject to penalties if they have to administer marijuana in the case of an emergency.

No Smoking
Smoking medical marijuana remains prohibited despite public demand. John Morgan, the driving force behind getting the amendment on the ballot last year and passed, said the only place where smoking is banned is in public places and intends to sue.

Products
Besides vaping, medical marijuana products can be sold as edibles (as long as it is a food product and does not market or appeal to children), oils, sprays or tinctures. Vaping cartridges, especially whole-flower products, must be in a tamper-proof container.

Patient Supplies
Patients may receive an order for three 70-day supplies before having to visit a doctor again to get re-examined. A physician must recertify a patient at least once every 30 weeks instead of once every 90 days.

No Waiting Period
The requirement that a patient be in the care of a certified doctor for 90 days has been removed. The waiting period, which was a part of the last two bills signed by Gov. Rick Scott, came under more scrutiny when cannabis was extended last year to terminal patients. Also, the certification course for doctors has been reduced from eight hours to two.

Snowbirds Welcome
Seasonal residents –those who reside in Florida at least 31 straight days each year, maintain temporary residence and are registered to vote or pay income tax in another state– will be eligible to receive medical marijuana.

More Treatment Centers
There will be 10 additional medical marijuana treatment centers by October. Five will be awarded by August 1 to nurseries that were narrowly defeated when the original distributors were selected in December 2015. Of the other five that will be awarded by October, one will go to a group of black farmers with citrus growers given preference to two others. By the end of the year there could be as many as 19 treatment centers. There would be a cap of 25 dispensaries per medical marijuana treatment center. As medical marijuana patient registrations increase, new dispensaries will be added: four dispensaries per 100,000 patients.

New License Requirements Relaxed
Instead of a nursery needing to be in business for 30 years, any Florida business that has been operating five or more years and has a medical director on staff can file an application.

Growing Market
There is a cap of 25 retail facilities per medical marijuana treatment center but it allows for four more shops per 100,000 patients with that cap subject to expire in 2020. Four more centers will be licensed per 100,000 patients. The state forecasts 472,000 patients in five years.

No Sales Tax
There will not be a sales tax on medical marijuana products. (Florida does not tax other medications.)

"Vaping cartridges, especially whole-flower products, must be in a tamper-proof container = fucking Keurig cups sigh
 
I would assume that the medical cannabis laws will be evolving. Citizens of FL needs to lobby for chronic pain. That leaves a whole segment of the population left out SOL.
 
Last edited:
I would assume that the medical cannabis laws will be evolving. Citizens of FL needs to lobby for chronic pain. That leaves a whole segment of the population left out SOL.
Hi Carol - might want to follow these links (if interested) about what the amendment actually says....screw lobbying, I think the should sue the pants off of their state.

http://dos.elections.myflorida.com/initiatives/fulltext/pdf/50438-3.pdf
https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Medical_Marijuana_Legalization,_Amendment_2_(2016)


The key clause in the text reads:

“Debilitating Medical Condition” means cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired
immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, Parkinson's
disease, multiple sclerosis, or other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enume
rated, and for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient
."​

Here is where it gets tricky. Those asshole, feed at the trough, politicians in FL passed a bill (as in legislation which is subordinate to the state constitution....which is why they need to be sued and sued hard and often) that was more restrictive. Summary:

On June 9, 2017, the Florida State Legislature passed Senate Bill 8A (SB 8A), the Medical Use of Marijuana Act. In the Senate, the vote was 29 to 6 with four members not voting. In the House, the vote was 103 to 9 with seven members not voting.[12] SB 8A was designed to establish regulations for the implementation of Amendment 2.[13]

SB 8A defined the following medical conditions as qualifying a patient for medical marijuana:[14]

  • Cancer
  • Epilepsy
  • Glaucoma
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Medical conditions comparable to those listed
  • A terminal condition
The bill placed a cap on the number of retail dispensaries and medical marijuana treatment centers allowed until April 1, 2020.[15] No tax was levied on medical marijuana.[16]

The bill banned the smoking of medical marijuana.[15] SB 8A allowed patients to obtain 70-day supplies of medical marijuana with two refills before needing a new prescription.[16]

To be allowed to prescribe medical marijuana, SB 8A required doctors to take a two-hour $500 course through the Florida Medical Association or Florida Osteopathic Medical Association. The bill banned doctors with a financial interest in marijuana growing or testing facilities from prescribing marijuana​


Note the lack of the clause that's in the constitution...specifically, this part: or 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."

I hope Morgan tears them a complete new set of assholes in court.
 
And....its starting :thumbsup:

Tampa's Joe Redner wants to grow his own cannabis plants, says suit
Count Joe Redner, Tampa's outspoken strip club entrepreneur and a lung cancer patient, among the first to challenge the state's medical marijuana laws in court.

Related News/Archive
Less than two weeks after lawmakers put in place new laws governing growing, manufacturing and selling medical marijuana, Redner's lawsuit claims the state is not following the will of the public, which voted overwhelmingly last year to legalize it by passing a constitutional amendment.

Specifically, Redner wants to grow his own marijuana plants. But under Florida Department of Health rules, Floridians are barred from growing cannabis plants for their personal use, including those who are legally registered as medical marijuana patients. Redner's lawsuit is challenging those rules.

Those in Florida's expanding medical marijuana industry say Redner could be one of many to challenge the state's laws on pot.

Lawmakers have limited the selling and growing of marijuana to seven companies. The number will grow to 17 this year, based on last-minute legislation that came about during a special session in Tallahassee earlier this month.

Previous Coverage: Meet Florida's legal drug cartels

That legislation also allows patients to use cannabis pills, oils, edibles and "vape" pens with a doctor's approval but bans smoking.

Redner's lawsuit is based on how the state constitution amended by voters defines marijuana. He suits claims that the definition includes "all parts of the plant."

Under the current rules, he said the dispensaries are left to decide what parts of the plant to use in its products. He said he wants to grow his own plants because he says he has no idea what he's getting from the state's licensed growers and distributors.

"I don't know if they're using pesticides or doing what's good for the plant," he said. "I'm a raw vegan. I am very careful about what I put into my body. And the amendment gives me the right to that."

Department of Health officials declined comment, citing the litigation.

Redner, 77, the owner of the Mons Venus strip club, is a registered medical marijuana patient in Florida and uses cannabis products to treat conditions related to his stage-four lung cancer. He also battled brain cancer in the past.

SUE CARLTON: A Joe Redner you might not know

"I want to grow plants — plural. Twenty of them," he said in an interview. "I'm doing research right now and I want to be able to use it in juicing. To be effective enough, I need to grow 20 plants."

His lawsuit is seeking declaratory judgement on the merits of his claim and is not seeking any damages. He has been vocal about medical marijuana in the past, including speaking out against rules proposed by the Hillsborough County Commission to limit where dispensaries can operate.

More than 70 percent of voters in 2016 approved Amendment 2, expanding the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida from just the terminally ill and some other patients with epilepsy and cancer, to those with other debilitating conditions such as glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and post traumatic stress disorder, among others. Lawmakers struggled with how to implement the expansion, which is result in a $1 billion industry in Florida within the next three years.

The Department of Health currently oversees the state's seven current operators. Redner says he plans to apply for a dispensary license as well.

Those within the burgeoning industry say Redner's lawsuit will hardly be the last.

"I think the legislators for the most part did a good job given the oppositional context of passing legislation. But they also took liberties that were not afforded to them by the constitution," 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. "I think you'll see lawsuits surrounding the policy positions and around the application process for becoming a licensed medical marijuana dispensing organization."

John Morgan, the high-profile Orlando trial attorney who bankrolled two Florida political campaigns to legalize it, also has threatened to sue over the ban on smokeable forms.

Pollara says that many other states have put provisions in place for patients who want to grow their own plants, and Florida is one of the few states that has not seriously considered it.

"It's not an extreme position," he said. "It's probably the single largest complaint that I've received over the last four and a half years doing this campaign."

Through the years, Floridians arrested for marijuana possession have argued in court with varying degrees of success that they were using the drug out of "medical necessity" to treat an illness. Jesse Teplicki won an acquittal in a Broward County court in 2015 after he was caught growing marijuana plants in his home that he said he used to treat his anorexia and nausea.

Redner's lawyer, Amanda Derby, says litigation like this just comes with the territory.

"New legislation calls for new litigation, unfortunately and fortunately," Derby said. "I think the amendment is pretty clear on its face, but the way it's set up gives the Department of Health so much power. I think if more patients find that growing their own provides better treatment, you'll see more litigation in the future."

Redner, a frequent but so far unsuccessful candidate for political office, is no stranger to the Florida court system. He once famously claimed he was gay in a 2005 federal lawsuit to challenge a ban on public recognition of gay pride events passed by Hillsborough commissioners.

"I've used the constitution as grounds to battle arrests in the past and I've gotten those arrests thrown out. It's pretty clear to me that the constitution gives me the right to challenge this. The state is not reading the amendment, they're not going by what it says," Redner said on Monday. "This is a health issue as far as I'm concerned."

Wow, so he owns Mons Venus...I had Bell South Director as a customer once and we were building out their mobile network in Tampa area. Every meeting he wanted it to be in Tampa, in the afternoon, followed by dinner (with my company buying, of course) and then we would start at Pure Platinum and end up at Mons at 3 am. It got real old and you should have heard me trying to explain to my fundamentalist Christian manager what the $400 in case expenses were everytime (lap dances for Willy...sigh). Anyway, I don't care who sues them...let everybody in the state sue them....the deserve it for ignoring the expressed will of the electorate.
 
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Orlando International Airport bans medical marijuana
It is now illegal to have any type of marijuana, even medical marijuana, at the Orlando International Airport.

The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority Board unanimously approved the medical marijuana ban Wednesday.

A draft policy published this week by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority puts medical marijuana users at risk of arrest when flying out of Orlando International Airport, despite 71 percent of Florida voters choosing to legalize weed for medical uses last November.

The draft policy seeks “to clarify that, despite the Florida constitutional amendment legalizing the use of Marijuana for medical purposes and the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of Marijuana by the City of Orlando, Marijuana is prohibited from being brought onto Airport Property.”

It goes on to say marijuana, including items for medical use, will be confiscated going forward. And that “any person violating this provision will be detained or arrested by a Law Enforcement Officer.”

"We are not a law enforcement agency. We are not walking around trying to look in anybody's pocket," said Marcos Marchena, GOAA general counsel.

Among OIA’s 42 million visitors each year, the Transportation Security Administration doesn’t actively search for marijuana, a representative told Eyewitness News on Tuesday. But she said if agents find it, they’ll notify local law enforcement, who would then be acting under GOAA’s policies.

The rules ban all forms of marijuana and its extracts, including items like the low-THC, high CBD medical cannabis Bruce Grossman relies on to fight chronic pain. He said he can’t imagine going on a trip without the medical marijuana.

“I would be in pain. Very simple,” Grossman said.

A GOAA spokesperson told Eyewitness News the authority’s legal team had determined federal funding received by the airport could be rescinded if the OIA began tolerating marijuana on-site.

"If the federal government comes to look, to make a determination of whether the airport is following all federal laws and regulations, that we can say, "Here's our policy. We're following all federal law,'" Marchena said.

Though local laws and ordinances have legalized and decriminalized the drug in various capacities, federal law considers marijuana a Schedule I narcotic. It contains no exceptions for alternative formulations or medical usage.

"I think it's only a matter of time until things change,” Grossman said.

Eyewitness News asked whether airport officials whether waivers would be available for people who can't leave their medication behind, but received no response Tuesday.

Other airports rules

Representatives from the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said if passengers have the proper documents, medical marijuana is allowed. And anyone at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport can have marijuana thanks to the state of Washington’s full legalization.

However, in Denver, any kind of marijuana is banned at the airport despite legalization in Colorado.

Ben Pollara, with United for Care, said since marijuana is being used by many people as a medicine, it should be treated that way by airport officials.

"You wouldn't ask a patient to get on an airplane without their penicillin, and you shouldn't ask them to get on without their marijuana, if that's what their doctor has recommended," he said.

Orlando police won't enforce OIA medical marijuana ban

The Orlando Police Department has said it will not arrest anyone lawfully carrying medical marijuana, even on airport property.

Airport administrators have not determined what the penalty would be for a passenger found by OIA staff lawfully carrying medical marijuana.

The measure goes into effect immediately. The airport authority plans to post signs advising flyers of the changes and to document what’s prohibited on-site.

I lived in FL for many years...in Volusia County and Palm Beach County....but it was long ago. I have to say, there is something really wrong with local government in FL. I don't know what these guys are smoking....but I don't want any as whatever it is seems to make people into complete morons. MORONS, I say! LOL
 
The store might be pretty but it isn't going to serve the needs of patients. Especially those that don't have a lot of money.

No flowers is an absolute crime that the lawmakers put in place. I think you're right @Baron23 the medical patients need to get a handful of powerhouse lawyers and take the state to court.

First Medical Cannabis Dispensary To Open In Gainesville
By Cecilia Mazanec
May 18, 2017 Health and Science, News, State of Florida, Video


28

The founders of Knox Medical don’t want you to think of their new facilities as pot shops.

Standing behind the counter in a white-walled room accented with brick and lightly stained wood, Bruce Knox and Jose Hidalgo, co-founders of the company, are hoping it reminds you more of a medical or pharmaceutical space.

“What we’re doing is changing people’s perceptions as to what cannabis in Florida is all about, and we want it to feel exactly like this,” Knox said. “And as we created this concept, it was meant to feel more like an Apple store than a cannabis store.”

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Knox Medical will open its new facility in Gainesville Friday, followed by one in Orlando in two weeks. (Cecilia Mazanec/WUFT)
According to the Florida Department of Health website, Knox is the only dispensing facility in Gainesville.

But Gainesville communications officer Chip Skinner said Knox is one of four dispensaries that have been granted zoning compliance. The zoning compliance is to dispense the non-euphoric Charlotte’s Web for medical purposes only.

Of Knox’s six dispensaries being constructed, Gainesville will be the first to open Friday at 11 a.m. But since last year, Knox said they’ve been delivering to patients around the state from Knox Nursery, which operates out of Winter Garden.

On Wednesday, media was invited for a press tour of the small space. In what used to be a burger joint, there are now glass walls and iPads. Between packages of vaporizers and liquid drops on shelves throughout the room were hats and water bottles marked with the company’s soft green flowered logo.

But what patients won’t find in the store is marijuana sold in “smokable” form.

“I think smoking a medicine is almost counterintuitive,” Hidalgo said. “It’s like an oxymoron.”

In fact, Knox said the company only refers to their product as medical cannabis.

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Knox Medical products include vaporizers and liquid drops. Company co-founder Jose Hidalgo says the company won’t offer a smokable form of the medical cannabis. “I think smoking a medicine is almost counterintuitive,” he says. (Cecilia Mazanec/WUFT)
 
“This is a good day for sick and suffering Floridians”: Governor signs medical marijuana legislation
Gov. Rick Scott noted that the constitutional amendment "was passed overwhelmingly" and said the law "make sense for our state"


By Joe Reedy, The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation Friday to implement the medical marijuana amendment voters approved last year.

Related: What Florida medical marijuana will look like under proposed rules

Amendment 2, approved by 71 percent of the voters in November, took effect on Jan. 3 and required that laws had to be in place by July 3 for how patients can qualify and receive the drug. Scott has noted that the constitutional amendment “was passed overwhelmingly” and said the law “make sense for our state.”

“This is a good day for sick and suffering Floridians. The signing of this law provides a framework for the future of our state’s medical marijuana system and while it is far from perfect, it will begin providing access to patients,” said Ben Pollara, the executive director of Florida for Care. (cont)

So exactly what are these two....uhhh.....individuals smoking (see Mom, I'm getting better...I didn't call either of them ass-hats, for example LOL). I'm talking about the Governor and this jerk Pallara. These guys would look at a black wall and tell you with a straight face that its white. The fact is that although the voters supported MMJ by 71%, the legislature (with Scott signing it) passed a bill that basically hamstrings the program. Lot of optics, not a lot of substance in the FL MMJ program. Its a Potemkin Village (look that one up in your Funk and Wagnalls) What a bunch of bullshit. These are the kind of jerks that declare victory in the midst of utter defeat cause...politicians and lobbiest. After reading this, I believe Morgan was right to jettison Pollara.
 

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