Law Florida

[elykpeace]

From regulate Florida's Facebook.

Petition to regulate like alcohol??


Here it is!

The petition

You can print the petition on either two double-sided sheets of paper or four separate sheets. Then staple them in the proper order and be sure to fill in all of the required fields.
Sign it.
Exercise your right and freedom to change the laws.

Be sure to fill in all required fields so that your petition will count. Leaving any required field blank will nullify your petition so double-check to make sure everything is completed.

sign.

Mail it.
Let your voice be heard.

Next, print out copies for friends and family. Make sure they also sign and mail so we can change misguided laws.

We need volunteers throughout Florida to spread the word. Be sure to share RegulateFlorida.com with your family, friends and co-workers. Print extra petitions and collect them while tailgating at football games. It's okay if you've never done this before. You'll have fun and meet lots of fun and interesting people. How many years have you been waiting for the laws to change? Now is the time and together we can!



Hopefully with the 71 percent on medicinal Florida can get.it.together.


Or else John Morgan is going to make it happen haha

 

[Baron23]

Florida officials decide waiting for medical marijuana ID card dispute would hurt patients
"We cannot wait for a protest without impacting patients currently suffering from qualifying medical conditions," Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambinieri said



TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida is moving forward with the outsourcing of medical marijuana identification cards despite a protest on how the contract was awarded, health officials said Monday.

The Office of Medical Marijuana Use signed a contract on Monday with Veritec Solutions LLC, which it planned on awarding last month.

Automated Health Systems filed an administrative protest of the process but Surgeon General Celeste Phillip has filed an immediate award of a contract in order to avoid any serious danger to public health.

According to the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings website, Automated Health System’s case against the Department of Health has not yet been assigned to an administrative judge and may not be heard until mid-December.

Phillip’s order allows Veritec to produce cards while the case is being heard.

“The rate of growth of this program has proven that we cannot wait for a protest without impacting patients currently suffering from qualifying medical conditions,” Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambinieri said.

Christian Bax, who is the executive director of the Office of Medical Marijuana Use, said before the Florida House’s Health Policy Committee last week that his office has made it a priority to process cards faster. Bax said it takes an average of 30 days but patients have said it can range anywhere from 35 to 90 days.

More on Florida

• Judge rules man convicted of murder can use medical marijuana despite probation rules
• Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz: Stop punishing cannabis industry. Remove 280E from tax code.
• Browns’ Josh Gordon admits weed, drinking were a ritual before “every game”
• Five out of five cities in Florida county ban medical marijuana
• Cannabis ads have landed at a busy California airport

Identification cards for patients were part of a law signed by Gov. Rick Scott in June. The state revised the laws after voters last November passed a constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana.

Patients who suffered from epilepsy, chronic muscle spasms, cancer and terminal conditions were allowed under laws Scott signed in 2014 and 2016 to receive either low-THC cannabis or full strength medical marijuana. Amendment 2 added people with HIV and AIDS, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and similar conditions.

With the added conditions, the state’s patient registry is seeing an average of 264 people added per day.

There are 54,120 patients in the medical marijuana registry, but only just over 29,000 cards have been printed. Phillip said in a memorandum filed last week that approximately 5,200 applications are currently being processed by staff but that approximately 1,000 are missing key information or have the wrong sized photo.

All but one of the 35 people hired by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use since June is working on processing identification cards. Phillip wrote that going with an outside vendor will allow staff to concentrate on patient access, regulating and licensing Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers along with working with physicians.

 

[Baron23]

Everybody in FL ought to sue those suckers.


Lawsuit: State of Florida Ignoring Medical Marijuana Law
The Associated Press
November 21, 2017

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida nursery and a man who suffers from epilepsy filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Gov. Rick Scott’s administration that contends that state officials are flouting the state’s new medical marijuana law.


It’s the latest legal challenge against the way Florida officials and state legislators have acted since voters approved medical marijuana a year ago.


RELATED STORY
More Delays to Florida’s Medical Marijuana ID Card Process
Bill’s Nursery, located in Miami-Dade County, and Michael Bowen want a judge to order the Department of Health to hand out new licenses for treatment centers that were promised in a law passed by the Legislature this past summer. Treatment centers are the only businesses allowed to grow, process and sell medical marijuana.

“Medical marijuana is literally the only thing that can control my seizures and keep me alive.”
Michael Bowen, plaintiff and epilepsy patient
The state was supposed to hand out a total of 10 new licenses by October, but so far has only approved six. Officials have blamed the delay on a separate lawsuit challenging another provision of the new law.

Bowen said the department is blocking patients from getting access to medical marijuana.

“In cases like mine, medical marijuana is literally the only thing that can control my seizures and keep me alive,” Bowen said in a statement. “But the Florida Department of Health’s inexcusable foot-dragging is keeping patients like me from getting safe, reliable access to these lifesaving treatments.”

Mara Gambineri, a spokeswoman for the department, said that the state is working “diligently” to implement the new law.


RELATED STORY
Florida Adding 264 Patients Per Day, Outsourcing Medical Marijuana ID Cards
“We remain committed to moving this process forward, and will do so in an expedient and thoughtful manner,” Gambineri said in an email.

Patients who suffered from epilepsy, chronic muscle spasms, cancer and terminal conditions were allowed under laws Scott signed in 2014 and 2016 to receive either low-THC cannabis or full strength medical marijuana. The amendment passed by voters last year added people with HIV and AIDS, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis and similar conditions.

But the implementation of the amendment — and the subsequent law legislators passed to carry it out — have come under fire from the backers of the initial amendment. John Morgan, the trial lawyer who led the charge for the amendment, sued in July because legislators banned smokable forms of the plant.

courtsFloridalawsuitsmedical marijuana

The Associated Press
The AP is one of the world's largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering.

 

[Baron23]

Give them fucking hell, Morgan. Sue their little reactionary, undemocratic, self-righteous little asses off. And can someone tell me what "vapeable" form is legal there....it ain't whole flower, right? Its just those concentrate syringes? Is that right?


Judge To Hear Arguments In Marijuana Smoking Case

A Leon County circuit judge will hear arguments next month about whether she should dismiss a challenge to a new law that bars patients from smoking medical marijuana.

Circuit Judge Karen Gievers has scheduled a hearing Jan. 25 in the state's attempt to scuttle the lawsuit.

Florida voters in November 2016 passed a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana in the state. The Legislature in June approved a law to help carry out the amendment and included a ban on smoking marijuana.

The law allows marijuana to be used in other ways, including by allowing patients to vaporize, or “vape,” marijuana products. But Orlando attorney John Morgan, who largely bankrolled the medical-marijuana legalization drive, filed a lawsuit in July contending that lawmakers violated the constitutional amendment by barring smoking.

Attorneys for the state are asking Gievers to dismiss the lawsuit, contending in part that lawmakers looked at smoking-related health dangers in deciding to approve the ban.

 

[Vicki]

We have no access to the flower here in Florida because, “ we might smoke it.” It is so fucking stupid.

 

[Baron23]

A little more informative article on this action. To me, FL's legislative action, after passing of a constitutional amendment by referendum, is the biggest slap to the face of voters in MJ legalization. Totally undemocratic and, IMO, it doesn't matter if you are an MMJ proponent or opponent, this issue goes to the heart of democracy in our country and I hope Morgan beats their asses into the ground in this suit.


Florida judge will hear lawsuit to allow smokable medical marijuana

A Leon County Circuit Court judge will hear arguments about the validity of Florida's smokable medical marijuana ban next month, finally giving one of the Sunshine State's most controversial legal weed regulations its day in court.

The lawsuit, first filed in July of this year by attorney and cannabis advocate John Morgan, seeks to remove a legislative amendment to Florida's voter-approved medical marijuana law banning the sale and use of smokeable, whole-flower cannabis.

In November, 2016, Floridians passed a medical marijuana initiative that included a clause giving terminally ill patients the right to use full-strength marijuana under the "Right to Try Act," with over 70% of the voters in favor. Before the program could be implemented, though, Sunshine State lawmakers flexed their red pens and legislative powers, amending the ballot initiative to ban smokable cannabis. That bill passed through the legislature with flying colors and support from both sides of the aisle.

For John Morgan, who wrote the successful medical marijuana initiative and has contemplated a run for Florida Governor in 2018, the post-vote changes have been a slap in the face to his ultimate goal: opening medical marijuana access to as many Floridians in need as possible.

"By redefining the constitutionally defined term 'medical use' to exclude smoking, the Legislature substitutes its medical judgment for that of 'a licensed Florida physician' and is in direct conflict with the specifically articulated Constitutional process," the initial lawsuit filing states.

In the original MMJ legalization initiative, Morgan argues, the language allowed legislators to make decisions with regard to smoking in public places, but not as it pertains to use in private homes or for sale at licensed dispensaries.

"If something is not allowed in public, it is allowed in private," Morgan said at a press conference announcing the lawsuit in July. "It's as clear to all of you as it is to any first-grader taking first-grade logic."

Now, after six months of waiting and at least one instance of regulatory action against dispensaries selling whole-plant cannabis, Morgan and his co-plaintiffs will finally present their case to a judge.

According to the USA Herald, Circuit Judge Karen Gievers will hear arguments from Morgan's lawyers and state regulators on January 25th.

In their arguments against smokable cannabis, Sunshine State legislators have argued that legal growth and access to whole-plant pot could create a "backdoor" to full legalization.

If Judge Gievers and the Circuit Court side with Morgan and his medical marijuana patient co-plaintiffs, Florida's Department of Health will be responsible for crafting a new set of regulations that includes smoking.

 

[Baron23]

Shame, really. 64% in favor and they can't collect enough referendum signatures to get it on the ballot. WTF?

Florida recreational marijuana legalization groups say they won’t make 2018 ballot

It looks as if Florida’s bid to legalize recreational cannabis will have to wait until at least 2020.

Two separate campaigns trying to gather the requisite 766,000 voter signatures to place initiatives on the November 2018 ballot told the Naples Daily News that they won’t make the threshold.

And that means there almost certainly won’t be a rec ballot measure for voters to weigh in on this year.

The deadline for the two campaigns to submit their petitions to the state is Feb. 1.

But, according to the newspaper, the two groups – Regulate Florida and Floridians for Freedom – collected only about 40,000 signatures and 30,000 signatures, respectively.

Public support would likely be behind legalization advocates, with recent polling showing that 64% of voters support full legalization.

But as the Daily News noted, it takes millions of dollars to run a successful statewide political campaign.

A Florida bid to legalize medical marijuana failed the first time it was on the ballot, in 2014.

A second campaign arguably was successful in 2016 only because millionaire benefactor and Orlando attorney John Morgan threw $9 million of his own money into the movement over the course of the two political cycles.

By contrast, no wealthy philanthropists are bankrolling the rec legalization bid. And the two campaigns raised less than $300,000 between them, the Daily News reported.

 

[Vicki]

Shame, really. 64% in favor and they can't collect enough referendum signatures to get it on the ballot. WTF?

Florida recreational marijuana legalization groups say they won’t make 2018 ballot

It looks as if Florida’s bid to legalize recreational cannabis will have to wait until at least 2020.

Two separate campaigns trying to gather the requisite 766,000 voter signatures to place initiatives on the November 2018 ballot told the Naples Daily News that they won’t make the threshold.

And that means there almost certainly won’t be a rec ballot measure for voters to weigh in on this year.

The deadline for the two campaigns to submit their petitions to the state is Feb. 1.

But, according to the newspaper, the two groups – Regulate Florida and Floridians for Freedom – collected only about 40,000 signatures and 30,000 signatures, respectively.

Public support would likely be behind legalization advocates, with recent polling showing that 64% of voters support full legalization.

But as the Daily News noted, it takes millions of dollars to run a successful statewide political campaign.

A Florida bid to legalize medical marijuana failed the first time it was on the ballot, in 2014.

A second campaign arguably was successful in 2016 only because millionaire benefactor and Orlando attorney John Morgan threw $9 million of his own money into the movement over the course of the two political cycles.

By contrast, no wealthy philanthropists are bankrolling the rec legalization bid. And the two campaigns raised less than $300,000 between them, the Daily News reported.

I don’t see recreational happening here anytime soon.

 

[Baron23]

Rec? REC!!!??? Hell, FL doesn't even have a for real medical program. Rec? haha

When Will Florida Legalize Recreational Marijuana?
Efforts are being made. But is legal, recreational weed in the cards for the folks living in the Sunshine State?

There has been a lot talk about when Florida will legalize the leaf for recreational use. The voters passed a so-called comprehensive medical marijuana program back in 2016. But the state government has been resistant to this reform. So much so that it has almost been easier for patients to continue frequenting the black market. Some people believe this is all the more reason to simply repeal the state’s prohibitionary standard. They want to allow its citizens to purchase legal weed for whatever condition necessary…be it cancer or simply just a bad day at the office. So when will Florida legalize recreational marijuana?

Regulate Florida
Legal weed is not likely to happen. Not for a while. There’s a campaign pushing to put the question of a fully legal recreational cannabis market on the ballot in the November election. But organizers of the group say they will not even come close to collecting the signatures needed to enter the next phase. The group calls itself Regulate Florida. And they require 766,000 petitions to earn a spot on the ballot in 2018.

Sadly, this means it could be a couple more years before this issue has a fighting chance.

“We’re going to continue on,” said Michael Minardi, a Tampa attorney who oversees Regulate Florida. “We’re excited about 2020. Because we know that the people are on our side.”

But just how far off was the group from making it on the ballot this year?


A report from USA Today indicates that Regulate Florida only managed to collect somewhere around 40,000 signatures. But the group is working to secure an additional 36,000 before the beginning of February in order to have the Supreme Court review the language of its proposal. This is a crucial step in Florida when pushing a constitutional amendment. And could determine the answer to the question ‘when will Florida legalize recreational marijuana?’.

Floridians for Freedom

Floridians For Freedom

The initiative backed by Regulate Florida is similar to other marijuana legalization campaigns that have proved successful in the United States. It would give Floridians 21 and over the freedom to cultivate, possess, and purchase marijuana from retail dispensaries. Essentially, the measure would create a taxed and regulated system comparable to the alcohol trade. It would give people the freedom to purchase cannabis products like they do with beer.

Another group, Floridians for Freedom, is also fighting make weed fully legal statewide. But there is a key distinction that separates them from the folks at Regulate Florida. This group seeks to make pot possession and cultivation a “basic right for adults under Article 1 of the Florida Constitution.”

“In our opinion, it creates a stronger sense of protection for the citizens of the state by establishing it within Article 1, where our basic rights are derived,” said Colby Wise with Floridians for Freedom. “We believe that, by doing it that way, it might actually stand up to resistance from federal authorities.”


Speaking of federal authorities.

Much of 2017 was spent wondering if or when U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions was going to launch a vicious crackdown on the legal cannabis industry. But 2018 has gotten off to a less elusive start. The Department of Justice recently announced that it was going to rescind an Obama-era memo (Cole) that has protected legal marijuana states from federal interference. It is a move that could make it less inspiring for states, like Florida, to move forward with legalization as freely as nine other jurisdictions.

Final Hit: When Will Florida Legalize Recreational Marijuana?
But despite Uncle Sam’s latest clash with cannabis, Floridians want it legal. 71 percent of the voting public approved the initiative legalizing medical marijuana back in 2016. Some of the latest polls have suggested that 56 percent of the voters would support an initiative to bring a full-scale cannabis industry to life. But the state needs more cooperation from Floridians in order for this reform to pass. Constitutional amendments require 60 percent of the vote to become law.

So when will Florida legalize recreational marijuana? As far as predictions go, cannabis advocates believe 2020 could be a long shot for legalization in Florida. Ben Pollara, one of the key figures responsible for the campaign to legalize marijuana for medicinal use, told USA Today that it will likely be “10 years” before adults in Florida are able to purchase cannabis products the same way they do now with alcohol.

 

[Vicki]

Rec? REC!!!??? Hell, FL doesn't even have a for real medical program. Rec? haha

When Will Florida Legalize Recreational Marijuana?
Efforts are being made. But is legal, recreational weed in the cards for the folks living in the Sunshine State?

There has been a lot talk about when Florida will legalize the leaf for recreational use. The voters passed a so-called comprehensive medical marijuana program back in 2016. But the state government has been resistant to this reform. So much so that it has almost been easier for patients to continue frequenting the black market. Some people believe this is all the more reason to simply repeal the state’s prohibitionary standard. They want to allow its citizens to purchase legal weed for whatever condition necessary…be it cancer or simply just a bad day at the office. So when will Florida legalize recreational marijuana?

Regulate Florida
Legal weed is not likely to happen. Not for a while. There’s a campaign pushing to put the question of a fully legal recreational cannabis market on the ballot in the November election. But organizers of the group say they will not even come close to collecting the signatures needed to enter the next phase. The group calls itself Regulate Florida. And they require 766,000 petitions to earn a spot on the ballot in 2018.

Sadly, this means it could be a couple more years before this issue has a fighting chance.

“We’re going to continue on,” said Michael Minardi, a Tampa attorney who oversees Regulate Florida. “We’re excited about 2020. Because we know that the people are on our side.”

But just how far off was the group from making it on the ballot this year?


A report from USA Today indicates that Regulate Florida only managed to collect somewhere around 40,000 signatures. But the group is working to secure an additional 36,000 before the beginning of February in order to have the Supreme Court review the language of its proposal. This is a crucial step in Florida when pushing a constitutional amendment. And could determine the answer to the question ‘when will Florida legalize recreational marijuana?’.

Floridians for Freedom

Floridians For Freedom

The initiative backed by Regulate Florida is similar to other marijuana legalization campaigns that have proved successful in the United States. It would give Floridians 21 and over the freedom to cultivate, possess, and purchase marijuana from retail dispensaries. Essentially, the measure would create a taxed and regulated system comparable to the alcohol trade. It would give people the freedom to purchase cannabis products like they do with beer.

Another group, Floridians for Freedom, is also fighting make weed fully legal statewide. But there is a key distinction that separates them from the folks at Regulate Florida. This group seeks to make pot possession and cultivation a “basic right for adults under Article 1 of the Florida Constitution.”

“In our opinion, it creates a stronger sense of protection for the citizens of the state by establishing it within Article 1, where our basic rights are derived,” said Colby Wise with Floridians for Freedom. “We believe that, by doing it that way, it might actually stand up to resistance from federal authorities.”


Speaking of federal authorities.

Much of 2017 was spent wondering if or when U.S Attorney General Jeff Sessions was going to launch a vicious crackdown on the legal cannabis industry. But 2018 has gotten off to a less elusive start. The Department of Justice recently announced that it was going to rescind an Obama-era memo (Cole) that has protected legal marijuana states from federal interference. It is a move that could make it less inspiring for states, like Florida, to move forward with legalization as freely as nine other jurisdictions.

Final Hit: When Will Florida Legalize Recreational Marijuana?
But despite Uncle Sam’s latest clash with cannabis, Floridians want it legal. 71 percent of the voting public approved the initiative legalizing medical marijuana back in 2016. Some of the latest polls have suggested that 56 percent of the voters would support an initiative to bring a full-scale cannabis industry to life. But the state needs more cooperation from Floridians in order for this reform to pass. Constitutional amendments require 60 percent of the vote to become law.

So when will Florida legalize recreational marijuana? As far as predictions go, cannabis advocates believe 2020 could be a long shot for legalization in Florida. Ben Pollara, one of the key figures responsible for the campaign to legalize marijuana for medicinal use, told USA Today that it will likely be “10 years” before adults in Florida are able to purchase cannabis products the same way they do now with alcohol.

It could be a lot longer than 10 years.

 

[Vicki]

Well, I have an appointment to get my medical card. $200 just to get a recommendation is crazy.

 

[momofthegoons]

Our fees to the state went down @Vicki. But it's still an additional $100 for the certification from the doctor. But the state fee went down to $60. Hopefully your fees will go down as well.

 

[Vicki]

I hope Florida doesn’t have a high state fee.

 

[Baron23]

I hope he sues their huevos off. Tu' hablo?

Joe Redner wins an early round in his legal fight to grow his own marijuana


In lawsuit against the Florida Department of Health, Tampa strip club owner Joe Redner says he has a right to own marijuana plants for medicinal uses. Redner, 77, is a lung cancer patient. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times]


Justine Griffin
More articles
Published: January 24, 2018
Updated: January 24, 2018 at 04:05 PM

Joe Redner, Tampa’s outspoken strip club entrepreneur and a lung cancer patient, will go to trial to challenge the state’s ban on allowing Florida residents to grow their own marijuana plants.

A state circuit court judge on Wednesday denied a motion by the Florida Department of Health to dismiss Redner’s case. The judge also denied Redner’s motion for an emergency temporary injunction, which would have allowed him to grow marijuana plants during the court process, but described Redner’s plea in the case as "constitutional in nature," which will allow for it to move forward.

"The greater weight of the credible evidence supports some of the factors inherent in the proper granting of the temporary injunction sought, specifically the constitutionally recognized right of the plaintiff, as a qualifying patient to possess growing plants," reads the order from Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers.

Redner described the order as a "step in the right direction" in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times Wednesday.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Tampa’s Joe Redner wants to grow his own cannabis plants, says suit

"I think that patients in Florida should be able to grow their own without fear of being arrested," said Redner, who owns the Mons Venus strip club in Tampa.

He is a registered medical marijuana patient in Florida and uses cannabis products to treat conditions related to his stage-four lung cancer.

"I have a secured back yard that’s locked with a six-foot block fence where I plan to grow," he said. "But I have opioids in my house that aren’t under lock and key. I don’t understand why they’re concerned that someone is going to steal my pot but not my opioids."

Redner, 77, filed the lawsuit last summer, less than two weeks after lawmakers put in place new laws governing the growing, manufacturing and selling of medical marijuana. It claims the state is not following the will of the public, which voted overwhelmingly in 2016 for a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana.

Under state health department rules, Floridians are barred from growing cannabis for their personal use, including those who are legally registered as medical marijuana patients. Redner’s lawsuit is challenging those rules based on how the state Constitution, as amended by voters, defines marijuana. The suit claims that the definition includes "all parts of the plant."

"I think this is a huge step forward for patients in need of this critical medicine," Luke Lirot, the attorney who argued the case Dec. 20, said in a statement.

"It helps sweep away a lot of inaccurate myths and unjustified fear exhibited by those who, regardless of the overwhelming evidence, still oppose anyone having access to medical cannabis," he said. "The best part of the decision is that the court truly embraced what we all know was the will of a vast majority of Florida’s voters."

Another Redner attorney, Amanda Carter, said the case was not a complicated one.

"All we are asking the court to do here is follow the Florida Constitution and declare that sick people have a right to grow cannabis for medical purposes," she said in a statement. "I am relieved that the judge understood that."

A Florida Department of Health spokeswoman said in an email "the department is reviewing the order and evaluating options for the best path forward."

The judge ordered that the department answer the complaint within two weeks, and that all parties provide notice that the case is ready for trial within 10 days after that.

"They’ve set an aggressive schedule," Redner said. "My guess is I’ll be able to grow it in three months."

 

[Baron23]

Hope the plaintiffs kick their state government's ass on this one.

Judge: Medical marijuana lawsuit over smoking can proceed

TALLAHASSEE — A lawsuit over whether patients can smoke medical marijuana moved forward Friday after a Tallahassee judge refused to grant the state’s request to dismiss the case.

Leon Circuit Judge Karen Gievers gave the go-ahead to the lawsuit, filed by a handful of Floridians who are eligible to use medical marijuana and a political organization that was behind a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized the treatment.

The plaintiffs are challenging a state law, passed during a special session last year that, among other things, bans patients from smoking marijuana.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argue that the smoking ban violates the state Constitution, which they maintain allows patients to use smokable marijuana as a treatment if their doctors order it.

Lawyers representing the state, however, insist the amendment doesn’t expressly authorize smoking. And, they argue, the Legislature was within its authority to ban smoking because the amendment gives lawmakers the power to implement it.

After hearing arguments Thursday on a state motion to dismiss the case, Gievers agreed with the state that People United for Medical Marijuana, the political committee, lacked standing to sue. She gave the group 10 days to amend its filing.

But she denied the state’s motion to dismiss the claims of three individual plaintiffs, including Cathy Jordan, an outspoken proponent of medical marijuana who has had Lou Gehrig’s disease for more than three decades. All have debilitating medical conditions that make them eligible for the treatment.

Jordan, who uses a wheelchair and has difficulty speaking because of her illness, is among a small number of patients who were authorized to smoke marijuana as a medical treatment long before the Florida amendment passed in 2016.

She and her husband, Bob, spent more than five years fruitlessly trying to convince lawmakers to legalize smokable medical marijuana for other sick patients.

“I’m delighted we can move forward,’’ said Jon Mills, a former House speaker who represents the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

 

[Baron23]

"“The Legislature’s taking the place of the doctors, telling us what we can and cannot do,” Jordan told the paper. “We voted for the constitutional amendment so we wouldn’t be prosecuted for smoking cannabis. We’re still in danger.”

THAT is the key phrase, IMO. "We", the FL electorate TOLD them....the FL state government...what THEY, the electorate... wanted. And they, the state government, overruled the electorate. Does this say anything to you FL citizens regarding your votes in the next election, hmmm?


Is Florida Lifting The Ban On Smoking Medical Marijuana?
No smoking in the Sunshine State.

Marijuana legalization has limits. Strictly speaking, in most places, cannabis is no longer fully legal as soon as fire is involved. Possessing up to an ounce is de rigueur in the eight states where marijuana is legal for adults 21 and over. In a few states, you even get two. But keep it in your pocket, because smoking that marijuana when in public is an offense punishable by a citation. But few places where cannabis is legal are as militant about marijuana smoke as Florida. Medical cannabis is legal in the Sunshine State, but thanks to an amendment to the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law, under no circumstances can it be smoked. But is that about to change? Is Florida lifting the ban on smoking medical marijuana?

Medical Marijuana in Florida
Florida’s medical marijuana regulations state that the herb is only available in the processed form: an oil, an edible, a topical or vaporized. Whole-flower cannabis is not allowed.

John Morgan is the Orlando trial lawyer largely responsible for medical marijuana in Florida. Or, he paid for the campaign, at least. Morgan is now also the lead attorney in a lawsuit filed against the state’s marijuana smoking ban.

Given second-hand tobacco smoke’s deadly-but-legal effect on the world, it’s hard to argue with Morgan’s logic that cannabis should at least be legal where cigarettes are legal. But that’s not what he’s asking for. As the Sun-Sentinel is reporting, Morgan is using a novel argument to advocate for his clients’ right to smoke cannabis: medical necessity.

One of the plaintiffs in the suit is Cathy Jordan. She suffers from ALS and has been confined to using a wheelchair for the past 20 years. She physically cannot swallow cannabis in pill form. Thus, she must smoke in order to use medical marijuana, according to her husband, Bob Jordan. If she doesn’t get her dose of THC and other healing cannabinoids, she may die.


“The Legislature’s taking the place of the doctors, telling us what we can and cannot do,” Jordan told the paper. “We voted for the constitutional amendment so we wouldn’t be prosecuted for smoking cannabis. We’re still in danger.”

Final Hit: Is Florida Lifting The Ban On Smoking Medical Marijuana?
The state’s argument, such as it is, is that the Legislature has the right to ban smoking indoors if it should choose—no logic or justification needed. According to Morgan, most voters had no idea that they were granting state lawmakers such power. Considering that marijuana’s most common application is smoking, and voters legalized medical marijuana, he has a point.

It’s worth mentioning that restrictions like Florida’s are baked into its medical marijuana law in direct response to the “situations” in places like California, where weed is apparently too easy to obtain and too often smoked in public. That’s right. According to lawmakers, too much marijuana legalization is a problem that needs fixing.

 

[Baron23]

Too bad but that does leave the actual MMJ patients as plaintiffs. Nothing to stop Morgan and his firm from working with these people against the state's outrageous restrictions and trampling of citizen's democratically expressed wishes.

Florida judge dismisses organization in medical marijuana lawsuit

Published: Jan 29, 2018, 11:03 am • Updated: about 22 hours ago

By The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida judge has ruled that a lawsuit against the state’s decision to ban smokable forms of medical marijuana can proceed but without one of the key parties.

Leon County Judge Karen Gievers ruled on Friday that three patients suing the state can proceed because their claims that the ban impacts them are sufficient. Gievers dismissed the motion by People United for Medical Marijuana, which is the committee formed by Orlando attorney John Morgan, because it lacks sufficient grounds. The organization has 10 days to file an amended lawsuit.

Morgan spearheaded the 2016 state constitutional amendment making medical marijuana legal, which was approved by 71 percent of voters.

Related stories

• Florida lawyer disbarred for sending clients to unlicensed doc who charged $800 for fake MMJ certificates
• Florida’s marijuana bank closing canna-business accounts
• Man, nursery sue state of Florida over medical marijuana delays

The state legislature banned smoking in last year’s bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott, saying it isn’t healthy. The law does allow for vaping, edibles, oils, sprays or tinctures.

 

[Vicki]

Too bad but that does leave the actual MMJ patients as plaintiffs. Nothing to stop Morgan and his firm from working with these people against the state's outrageous restrictions and trampling of citizen's democratically expressed wishes.

Florida judge dismisses organization in medical marijuana lawsuit

Published: Jan 29, 2018, 11:03 am • Updated: about 22 hours ago

By The Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida judge has ruled that a lawsuit against the state’s decision to ban smokable forms of medical marijuana can proceed but without one of the key parties.

Leon County Judge Karen Gievers ruled on Friday that three patients suing the state can proceed because their claims that the ban impacts them are sufficient. Gievers dismissed the motion by People United for Medical Marijuana, which is the committee formed by Orlando attorney John Morgan, because it lacks sufficient grounds. The organization has 10 days to file an amended lawsuit.

Morgan spearheaded the 2016 state constitutional amendment making medical marijuana legal, which was approved by 71 percent of voters.

Related stories

• Florida lawyer disbarred for sending clients to unlicensed doc who charged $800 for fake MMJ certificates
• Florida’s marijuana bank closing canna-business accounts
• Man, nursery sue state of Florida over medical marijuana delays

The state legislature banned smoking in last year’s bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott, saying it isn’t healthy. The law does allow for vaping, edibles, oils, sprays or tinctures.

They want you to have what they say you can have, and it’s extremely expensive. This is all about money. They don’t really give a rats ass if anyone smokes it.

 

[Baron23]

Florida House seeks state action on medical marijuana
The Department of Health has been slow to roll out regulations required to implement both the use of low-THC, or non-euphoric, medical marijuana as well as traditional marijuana for medical purposes, something voters overwhelmingly approved in 2016.

The House on Wednesday froze $2.1 million in salary and expenses at the Department of Health for failing to respond to concerns raised by a joint legislative committee over a trio of emergency rules relating to medical marijuana.

There was no debate when Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, tagged the amendment onto the House's proposed health care spending plan for the 2018-19 fiscal year Wednesday morning.

But Brodeur told The News Service of Florida that he sponsored the amendment because the department has not followed the Legislature's direction when it comes to medical marijuana.

"There have been a number of instances where they have missed deadlines and implementation of the medical marijuana law. They have yet to respond to a number of letters sent to them on behalf of the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee. And so now I think we'll get their attention that they need to respond to those," he said.

While the Senate budget doesn't include the freeze, Senate Appropriations Chairman Sen. Bradley told reporters Wednesday evening that he supports the House's move and that the department needs to move ahead with properly promulgating rules related to a medical marijuana law passed last year.

The Department of Health has been slow to roll out regulations required to implement both the use of low-THC, or non-euphoric, medical marijuana as well as traditional marijuana for medical purposes, something voters overwhelmingly approved in 2016.

The delays have not been without consequences. The Florida Senate in 2016 refused to reconfirm former Department of Health Secretary John Armstrong, due in part to the delays in making low-THC marijuana available for use.

Office of Medical Marijuana Use Director Christian Bax and other health officials have blamed the delays on legal and administrative challenges.

Since early October, the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee has sent correspondence to Bax and Amanda Bush, a senior attorney with the Department of Health, flagging concerns about the marijuana regulations. The concerns focused on emergency rules the department tried to implement, emergency rules the department failed to implement, and proposed rules to replace the emergency rules.

More than three months after the first letter was sent, Bax's office still hasn't responded to the letters or to a follow-up request for information following Bax's appearance before the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee in December.

The oversight committee, comprised of five senators and six state representatives, reviews rules proposed by agencies to ensure that the regulations are authorized by state law.

The News Service of Florida obtained copies of ten letters sent by the committee to Bax's office between October and January identifying concerns with emergency rules.

For example, the committee's chief attorney, Marjory C. Halloday, sent an 18-page letter to Bush identifying potential concerns about the range of penalties the department would assess against medical marijuana treatment centers for violating the rules. The letter, dated October 9, also questioned why the rule used the term "medical cannabis," when "medical marijuana" is used in the law.

Joint Administrative Procedures Committee Coordinator Kenneth Plante also sent a two-page letter to Bax citing concerns with a rule that established standards for medical marijuana treatment centers and their production of edible products, advising that the law required the department to establish an emergency rule about edible products before moving ahead with a permanent rule.

Plante also sent a two-page letter to Bax on December 18 asking for information about pesticides and for copies of standards and protocols used by laboratories that contract with medical marijuana treatment centers.

After receiving no response to the committee's litany of concerns, Halloday earlier this month sent three letters to the Department of Health telling Bush that Halloday expects the committee staff to recommend that the committee members object to the three emergency rules when they meet on Monday.

Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said the agency is "working diligently to respond to the many inquiries from JAPC and will meet with the committee on Monday."

"(We) hope to address their concerns so that we can all move forward in the best interest of Florida's patients," Gambineri said in an email.


House Speaker Richard Corcoran told reporters Wednesday evening he supports Brodeur's effort.

"I think anytime we can exert influence in trying to get things moving the way they should, if we have that opportunity, we ought to take it so long as it's the right thing to do," Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, said.

 

[Baron23]

And this guy is a Republican, right....but he at least understands the tenets of democracy. THIS is the definition of the so called "deep state" where non-elected bureaucrats work to stifle the will of the electorate as expressed by their votes. Personally, I'm sick and tired of bureaucratic fascist running a large part of our federal/local government and view this, more than many other issues, as critical to the future of our form of government.


Powerful senator suggests targeting Florida Department of Health over medical marijuana delays
By Elizabeth Koh

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau
February 08, 2018 08:17 AM

The powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee suggested Wednesday he, too, would consider targeting funding at the Department of Health to force them to take more action on implementing medical marijuana regulations, after officials there failed to respond for months to letters from a committee expressing concerns with the agency’s rules.

Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said the agency’s top marijuana official, Christian Bax, had also showed “an element of disrespect” Monday when Bax sat in silence during a meeting of that committee as legislators discussed their concerns in front of him. They then voted unanimously objecting to multiple rules the office issued last year.

Bradley told reporters that legislators were considering ways to prompt swifter action from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use, which has been slow to roll out the regulations needed to implement the constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana. Bax's silence during the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee meeting was particularly frustrating, he said.

"We certainly are considering all options to responding accordingly to what I think is not a proper acknowledgement of the separation of powers and the role each branch plays in our system," Bradley said, though he did not elaborate on how that power might be exercised. "We have the power of the purse, utilizing that to make sure they do their job."

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The House already flexed some of its spending muscle last week to force Bax's office to respond, when Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, pushed an amendment in the House's budget last week that froze $2.1 million in salary and funds at the Department of Health. Bradley said at the time that he supported the measure, though it was not mirrored in the Senate.

Bax had infuriated legislators at the committee meeting Monday when, despite a public lashing, he remained silent as the committee discussed its objections to some of the department's emergency rules. The objections, which addressed issues including a ban on amending applications for medical marijuana licenses and ID cards for caregivers, were outlined in 15 letters from the committee dating back to October, said Sen. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, a committee chair.

Bax's office had ignored them, in a first for the committee, he said. When a letter from the Department of Health's general counsel Friday said the committee's objections might cause more delays with the next application cycle and some regulations, Rader called that reasoning insulting.

Rader also suggested that legislators might consider targeting the office's funding, though his committee itself has little punitive power.

The office has attributed delays to administrative issues, legal challenges and fallout from Hurricane Irma. Among the legal issues it had blamed was a lawsuit — since blocked by a judge — contesting a provision requiring a black farmer receive one of the 1o new marijuana licenses created under the law.

Bax told reporters after the Monday meeting that the office had 30 days to respond and that it was "appropriate to give these objections the time and consideration that they're due."


Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article199027649.html#storylink=cpy