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Law Florida

@Vicki I'll look into Trulieve. I find out which doctor she went to, but her regular doctor is on board with her trying MMJ.

My mom is almost 80 and this will be her first time with cannabis, so she needs the easiest dosing possible, especially since I cannot give her hands on assistance from here. I think prefilled cartridges for immediate relief and tincture for at least night time will work for her
 
TheModernDayNeanderthal said:
@Vicki I'll look into Trulieve. I find out which doctor she went to, but her regular doctor is on board with her trying MMJ.

My mom is almost 80 and this will be her first time with cannabis, so she needs the easiest dosing possible, especially since I cannot give her hands on assistance from here. I think prefilled cartridges for immediate relief and tincture for at least night time will work for her
Click to expand...

My regular doctor is also all for me using medical marijuana. It’s a refreshing change.

I don’t like the prefilled cartridges because of the MCT cutting agent, but I see how it would be easiest for her, tincture too.
 
Vicki said:
I just placed my first medical marijuana order over the phone. I got $50 off new patient discount, and they will be delivering it for free on Thursday.

I might be going to a different dispensary tomorrow too to get the $75 off $150 new patient discount. :)
Click to expand...
You go girl!!! :biggrin:

I'm glad to hear that supply, be it limited in variety, is more available than it was. One of these days it'll get even better Vicki.... one of these days...
 
I believe that Fifi, the poodle in Hialeigh, is the only entity in FL not suing the state over this cocked up MMJ program rollout. Wow. Being sued by their own, sitting in the cat bird seat, licensees.

Medical marijuana provider Trulieve sues state over store limits

Trulieve, a medical marijuana provider, on Monday filed a “constitutional challenge” against the state’s Department of Health over how many retail stores it can open, and where, under current law.

An attorney for the company, which is seeking “non-monetary declaratory or injunctive relief,” provided a copy of the complaint by George Hackney Inc., the Gadsden County nursery that does business as Trulieve.

The lawsuit follows a similar administrative action last year that sought to lock down its “dispensary rights.”

It wanted “to clarify that the allowed number and location of (medical marijuana) dispensaries (under Florida law) does not setoff or divest dispensary rights vested under its dispensing organization license,” that filing said.

Trulieve now is asking a court to declare its rights under law to open new stores. The case for now has been assigned to Tallahassee-based Circuit Judge John Cooper.

Its complaint, filed Monday in Leon Circuit Civil court, says its original application made clear “its plan to locate dispensaries throughout the state. Upon comparative review, DOH granted Trulieve’s application without any limitation on the number of dispensaries.”

State laws passed in 2014 and 2016 “imposed (no) limit on the number of dispensaries that dispensing organizations could establish … The right to compete statewide without restriction was an essential part of Trulieve’s business plan and a significant incentive to enter this novel business.”

The department “did not express any objection to this plan,” the complaint says, and the constitutional amendment on medical marijuana passed by voters in 2016 “does not limit the number of dispensaries for licensed suppliers.”

But an implementing bill, passed last year, sets a limit on dispensaries statewide and “further subdivides this statewide quota into five regional quotas based on population … This cap on dispensaries expires April 1, 2020.”

“The sole purpose of this statutory cap on the number and location of dispensaries is to temporarily suppress competition among MMTCs,” or medical marijuana treatment centers.

The department “has indicated its intent to limit Trulieve to 25 total dispensaries, apportioned by region, under the 2017 statute. (This) will impair Trulieve’s vested rights as a dispensing organization, and diminish the value of Trulieve’s licensed business,” the complaint says.

The department does not comment on pending litigation, but Christian Bax, head of the department’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use, has told lawmakers that a litany of lawsuits continues to jam up Florida’s medical marijuana licensure process.

His office’s latest weekly email newsletter, which comes out every Friday, showed at least eight pending lawsuits, not counting administrative actions.

Medical marijuana implementation “continues to be frequently litigated,” the newsletter says.

“While some of these lawsuits have little impact on our progress, others – particularly those regarding the constitutionality of the law we are tasked with executing – have significant impact on DOH’s ability to implement certain requirements” under law.

Updated Tuesday — Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement: “This lawsuit is first and foremost about patient access. The current arbitrary caps are not just an after-the-fact restriction that was added after we were awarded a license, but they limit our ability to provide safe medical marijuana efficiently to our customers throughout Florida.

“The restrictions force us to use extremely expensive long-distance delivery and build dispensaries on a model based on geographic distribution, not where patients live. This not only restricts access to patients in need, but forces higher prices. We believe these arbitrary and highly restrictive caps violate Florida’s constitutional guarantee of safe medical cannabis to patients in need.”
 
Baron23 said:
I believe that Fifi, the poodle in Hialeigh, is the only entity in FL not suing the state over this cocked up MMJ program rollout. Wow. Being sued by their own, sitting in the cat bird seat, licensees.

Medical marijuana provider Trulieve sues state over store limits

Trulieve, a medical marijuana provider, on Monday filed a “constitutional challenge” against the state’s Department of Health over how many retail stores it can open, and where, under current law.

An attorney for the company, which is seeking “non-monetary declaratory or injunctive relief,” provided a copy of the complaint by George Hackney Inc., the Gadsden County nursery that does business as Trulieve.

The lawsuit follows a similar administrative action last year that sought to lock down its “dispensary rights.”

It wanted “to clarify that the allowed number and location of (medical marijuana) dispensaries (under Florida law) does not setoff or divest dispensary rights vested under its dispensing organization license,” that filing said.

Trulieve now is asking a court to declare its rights under law to open new stores. The case for now has been assigned to Tallahassee-based Circuit Judge John Cooper.

Its complaint, filed Monday in Leon Circuit Civil court, says its original application made clear “its plan to locate dispensaries throughout the state. Upon comparative review, DOH granted Trulieve’s application without any limitation on the number of dispensaries.”

State laws passed in 2014 and 2016 “imposed (no) limit on the number of dispensaries that dispensing organizations could establish … The right to compete statewide without restriction was an essential part of Trulieve’s business plan and a significant incentive to enter this novel business.”

The department “did not express any objection to this plan,” the complaint says, and the constitutional amendment on medical marijuana passed by voters in 2016 “does not limit the number of dispensaries for licensed suppliers.”

But an implementing bill, passed last year, sets a limit on dispensaries statewide and “further subdivides this statewide quota into five regional quotas based on population … This cap on dispensaries expires April 1, 2020.”

“The sole purpose of this statutory cap on the number and location of dispensaries is to temporarily suppress competition among MMTCs,” or medical marijuana treatment centers.

The department “has indicated its intent to limit Trulieve to 25 total dispensaries, apportioned by region, under the 2017 statute. (This) will impair Trulieve’s vested rights as a dispensing organization, and diminish the value of Trulieve’s licensed business,” the complaint says.

The department does not comment on pending litigation, but Christian Bax, head of the department’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use, has told lawmakers that a litany of lawsuits continues to jam up Florida’s medical marijuana licensure process.

His office’s latest weekly email newsletter, which comes out every Friday, showed at least eight pending lawsuits, not counting administrative actions.

Medical marijuana implementation “continues to be frequently litigated,” the newsletter says.

“While some of these lawsuits have little impact on our progress, others – particularly those regarding the constitutionality of the law we are tasked with executing – have significant impact on DOH’s ability to implement certain requirements” under law.

Updated Tuesday — Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement: “This lawsuit is first and foremost about patient access. The current arbitrary caps are not just an after-the-fact restriction that was added after we were awarded a license, but they limit our ability to provide safe medical marijuana efficiently to our customers throughout Florida.

“The restrictions force us to use extremely expensive long-distance delivery and build dispensaries on a model based on geographic distribution, not where patients live. This not only restricts access to patients in need, but forces higher prices. We believe these arbitrary and highly restrictive caps violate Florida’s constitutional guarantee of safe medical cannabis to patients in need.”
Click to expand...

Trulieve is ALWAYS out of stock!!
 
This is far from over, but it is refreshing to see someone in politics in FL with some common sense and a plain understanding of the intent of the constitutional amendment that was passed.


Judge Says Florida Man Can Grow His Own Medical Marijuana

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Floridians critical of the state’s implementation of medical marijuana applauded a circuit court ruling Wednesday that allows a Tampa man to grow his own plants.

Leon County Judge Karen Gievers said that Joseph Redner is entitled under state law to possess, grow and use marijuana for juicing. Redner was prescribed to receive juicing treatments from his doctor to prevent a relapse of stage 4 lung cancer.

The 77-year old strip club owner is one of more than 95,000 state residents who is registered as a medical marijuana patient, but none of the treatment centers licensed by the state do not offer whole-plant or juicing products.

“If this ruling is upheld, it will dramatically change patient access.”
Jeff Sharkey, Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida
Gievers also said in her decision that Redner can do this solely for the juicing prescription that has been recommended by his physician. The ruling applies only to Redner but could open the door for others who have said the state should allow whole-plant use.

Currently, Florida allows only processed cannabis that isolates certain parts of the plant to be sold by medical marijuana treatment centers. Two treatment centers recently petitioned the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use to allow the sale of whole-plant cannabis.

Luke Lirot, who is Redner’s attorney, said his client was very pleased about the ruling and noted that juicing does not cause any psychoactive effects for patients.


RELATED STORY
Want to Try Cannabis Juicing? Check Out These Recipes and Guidelines
“The ruling recognizes the medical value of marijuana in all its forms and the plain language of Amendment 2,” he said.

The state’s Department of Health immediately filed an appeal after the ruling. Lirot said he would petition the court on Thursday to lift the automatic stay on the ruling.

Gievers also said in her ruling that the state continues to be non-compliant in the implementation of Amendment 2. The amendment, which passed in 2016, legalized medical marijuana in Florida. In the case of Redner, Gievers noted that the state still has not defined what the adequate supply of medical marijuana is for a patient despite being mandated to do so.


RELATED STORY
Lawsuit: State of Florida Ignoring Medical Marijuana Law
The Department of Health is involved in eight other court cases related to medical marijuana, ranging from licensing of treatment centers to the banning of smoking. The smoking ban will also be heard by Gievers next month.

Jeff Sharkey, who help runs the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida, said that since the amendment does not restrict whole-plant use, Wednesday’s ruling further proves there should be no restrictions for how patients want to get treatment.

“If this ruling is upheld, it will dramatically change patient access,” he said.
 
Baron23 said:
This is far from over, but it is refreshing to see someone in politics in FL with some common sense and a plain understanding of the intent of the constitutional amendment that was passed.


Judge Says Florida Man Can Grow His Own Medical Marijuana

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Floridians critical of the state’s implementation of medical marijuana applauded a circuit court ruling Wednesday that allows a Tampa man to grow his own plants.

Leon County Judge Karen Gievers said that Joseph Redner is entitled under state law to possess, grow and use marijuana for juicing. Redner was prescribed to receive juicing treatments from his doctor to prevent a relapse of stage 4 lung cancer.

The 77-year old strip club owner is one of more than 95,000 state residents who is registered as a medical marijuana patient, but none of the treatment centers licensed by the state do not offer whole-plant or juicing products.

“If this ruling is upheld, it will dramatically change patient access.”
Jeff Sharkey, Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida
Gievers also said in her decision that Redner can do this solely for the juicing prescription that has been recommended by his physician. The ruling applies only to Redner but could open the door for others who have said the state should allow whole-plant use.

Currently, Florida allows only processed cannabis that isolates certain parts of the plant to be sold by medical marijuana treatment centers. Two treatment centers recently petitioned the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use to allow the sale of whole-plant cannabis.

Luke Lirot, who is Redner’s attorney, said his client was very pleased about the ruling and noted that juicing does not cause any psychoactive effects for patients.


RELATED STORY
Want to Try Cannabis Juicing? Check Out These Recipes and Guidelines
“The ruling recognizes the medical value of marijuana in all its forms and the plain language of Amendment 2,” he said.

The state’s Department of Health immediately filed an appeal after the ruling. Lirot said he would petition the court on Thursday to lift the automatic stay on the ruling.

Gievers also said in her ruling that the state continues to be non-compliant in the implementation of Amendment 2. The amendment, which passed in 2016, legalized medical marijuana in Florida. In the case of Redner, Gievers noted that the state still has not defined what the adequate supply of medical marijuana is for a patient despite being mandated to do so.


RELATED STORY
Lawsuit: State of Florida Ignoring Medical Marijuana Law
The Department of Health is involved in eight other court cases related to medical marijuana, ranging from licensing of treatment centers to the banning of smoking. The smoking ban will also be heard by Gievers next month.

Jeff Sharkey, who help runs the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida, said that since the amendment does not restrict whole-plant use, Wednesday’s ruling further proves there should be no restrictions for how patients want to get treatment.

“If this ruling is upheld, it will dramatically change patient access,” he said.
Click to expand...

I hope this sets a precedent.
 
And hopefully, one day soon, FL will have an actual medical marijuana program for these 100K patients. Keep suing them, Morgan.

More than 100,000 sign up to get medical marijuana in Florida

Florida’s medical-marijuana patient database has hit the 100,000 mark, according to a weekly update issued by the state Department of Health’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

As of Friday, 100,576 Florida patients had registered with the office, an increase of more than 2,500 in the past week.

Only 75,208 of the registered patients have been issued ID cards allowing them to purchase the marijuana treatment, and nearly 3,000 more applications for the cards are being processed.

According to the update, 1,314 doctors have qualified to order marijuana treatment for patients.

Florida voters broadly legalized medical marijuana in a constitutional amendment nearly two years ago, but state regulators are fighting a series of legal and administrative challenges about the laws and rules related to the burgeoning industry.

Tampa strip-club owner Joe Redner recently won a court victory after Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers signed off on allowing the 77-year-old cancer survivor to grow his own marijuana. Redner’s doctors testified that juicing marijuana whole plants was the best source of treatment to keep his cancer in remission. The state is appealing the decision.

In a separate case initiated by Orlando lawyer John Morgan, who largely bankrolled the constitutional amendment, patients are challenging a state law banning smokable marijuana. The patients are arguing that their doctors have ordered the smokable treatment.
 
"Editorial: Florida needs to get medical marijuana right" by TYLISA C.JOHNSON for the TIMES on May 7, 2018.

Medical marijuana is only just becoming widely available in Florida, and already the state is fumbling the ball. Of the roughly 1,400 doctors who have signed on to the program, nearly one in five has a tarnished professional history, giving rise to a wing of medical practice shadowed by questions. That’s a gross disservice to patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and a host of other maladies, and an affront to Floridians who voted for a safe and efficient medical cannabis program.

Under the state’s emerging framework, doctors in the program must complete only two hours of training and pay a $250 fee to be able to recommend medical use of marijuana for patients diagnosed with certain chronic, debilitating conditions. Voters two years ago added medical marijuana to the state constitution, and its embrace by public officials has been begrudging at best. While setting that low barrier to entry, the state makes participation unattractive to good doctors. The recommendations they must write too closely resemble prescriptions — and prescribing marijuana is illegal under federal law. The resulting pool of physicians is concerning, but not altogether surprising.

Tampa Bay Times staff writer Corey G. Johnson examined the database of 1,432 physicians who were registered in April and identified 262 with black marks on their records, including discipline by a medical board, criminal charges and large malpractice judgments and settlements.

A patient in Fort Lauderdale visited a clinic that smelled bad and was littered with fast food trash. The doctor who treated her gave up his medical license in Colorado, the office tried to overcharge her and eventually the clinic’s phone was disconnected.

There are other reports of doctors taking patients’ money up front and never entering their names in the state registry, which is required for obtaining cannabis from a dispensary.

And Johnson identified several doctors with a history of prescription abuse.

That’s right: Florida, the birthplace of pill mills, is allowing doctors accused of writing fraudulent prescriptions to get in on the ground floor of the medical marijuana movement.

The lack of foresight is astonishing, as is the Department of Health’s utter ineptitude in establishing reasonable and workable regulations, which other states have done with few problems.

Ideally, patients suffering from chronic conditions or serious diseases should be able to seek care from their own doctor to find out if medical marijuana would help them. But not enough mainstream doctors are confident in the state’s program to participate, and that leaves patients vulnerable to receiving something less than superior care.

One in five doctors who can recommend medical marijuana in Florida has a blemish in their past. That’s too high a ratio in a medical industry that is only going to grow.

The state has an obligation to make voter-approved medical marijuana readily available while providing oversight of this burgeoning industry to ensure that patients are protected. It’s not off to a good start.
 
Lawmakers fire another warning shot over medical marijuana rules

A legislative panel is again taking the state’s medical marijuana regulators to task, asking whether they are “refusing to modify the rules” governing the drug.

Kenneth Plante, coordinator of the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee (JAPC), fired off a letter Tuesday to Department of Health general counsel Nichole Geary.

In it, he said the department’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use had failed to address the committee’s prior objections in its proposed rules issued May 1.

“Was this an oversight, or is the Department now taking the position that it is refusing to modify the rules?” Plante wrote.

Among other things, medicinal cannabis regulators didn’t respond to objections earlier this year over a $60,000 “nonrefundable application fee” to become a marijuana provider, and a provision for “contingent” licenses, saying they weren’t in state law.

“I think it is fair to say that the Department’s failure to address the Committee’s objections … is not indicative of a good faith effort” to work with lawmakers, Plante wrote.

The letter was copied to Sen. Kevin Rader, the Delray Beach Democrat who chairs the committee; Health Secretary and state Surgeon General Celeste Philip and Office of Medical Marijuana Use director Christian Bax.

“The department is reviewing the letter received today,” Health Department spokesman Devin Galetta said Tuesday. “We are committed to pushing forward with the additional licenses and look forward to working with JAPC to finalize these rules as quickly as possible in order to meet our goals.”

The committee, which ensures that agencies write rules that line up with statutes passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, has previously had problems with medical marijuana rulemaking.

Lawmakers have been upset for months, mainly over what they call the department’s slow-going in implementing medical marijuana under a 2016 constitutional amendment that voters passed by 71 percent.

Lawmakers later approved and Gov. Rick Scott signed an implementing bill, which gives guidance and instructions to state agencies on how to enforce state law.

At a meeting this February, the committee formally approved 17 individual objections, including the ones mentioned, and listed more than 40 distinct operations violations “with no standards or guidance … , thereby vesting unbridled discretion in the Department.”

The committee had also sent 15 letters to the department since October giving Health officials a heads-up as to concerns—to be met with no response.

“Our responses are a collaborative process between leadership, legal and policy,” Bax said at that meeting. “We think it’s appropriate to give these objections the time and consideration they’re due … We’ll respond in good time.”

The Legislature also included a provision in the 2018-19 state budget that freezes a portion of salaries and benefits for the department’s brass, including Philip and Bax, until they get a move on in writing new rules.
 
He's down, no he's up, no he's back down. sigh Endless court battles. It says he's in remission, but earlier articles said he had stage 4 lung cancer and there is no such thing as true remission of that, AFAIK. Sucker will be dead before they settle this case. Shame on FL state government...shame.

Florida Appeals Court Grants Stay in Cannabis Juicing Case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida appeals court has temporarily blocked a Tampa man from growing his own medical marijuana.

The state’s 1st District Court of Appeal on Tuesday sided with the Department of Health and granted a stay on Leon County Judge Karen Gievers’ ruling that entitled Joseph Redner to grow and use marijuana for juicing. The 77-year-old Redner is in remission for lung cancer. The April 11 ruling applied only to Redner, but could have opened the door for others who have said the state should allow whole-plant use.

The court will review Gievers’ ruling, which also said that the state continues to be non-compliant in the implementation of Amendment 2. The amendment, which passed in 2016, legalized medical marijuana in Florida.
 
Baron23 said:
He's down, no he's up, no he's back down. sigh Endless court battles. It says he's in remission, but earlier articles said he had stage 4 lung cancer and there is no such thing as true remission of that, AFAIK. Sucker will be dead before they settle this case. Shame on FL state government...shame.

Florida Appeals Court Grants Stay in Cannabis Juicing Case

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida appeals court has temporarily blocked a Tampa man from growing his own medical marijuana.

The state’s 1st District Court of Appeal on Tuesday sided with the Department of Health and granted a stay on Leon County Judge Karen Gievers’ ruling that entitled Joseph Redner to grow and use marijuana for juicing. The 77-year-old Redner is in remission for lung cancer. The April 11 ruling applied only to Redner, but could have opened the door for others who have said the state should allow whole-plant use.

The court will review Gievers’ ruling, which also said that the state continues to be non-compliant in the implementation of Amendment 2. The amendment, which passed in 2016, legalized medical marijuana in Florida.
Click to expand...

This state is a clusterfuck, and medical marijuana is worse than that. There is a special place in hell for the people denying us access to cannabis, or making it unaffordable for the poor and sick.
 
And it goes on and on.

Redner Vows To Take Medical Marijuana Fight to Florida Supreme Court

Tampa strip club owner and cancer patient Joe Redner is vowing to take his fight to grow medical marijuana for his personal use to the Florida Supreme Court.

Earlier this month, an appeals court sided with the state Department of Health and temporarily blocked Redner, 77, from growing marijuana. The stay came after a Leon County Circuit Judge ruled Redner was legally allowed to grow marijuana plants for juicing to help prevent a relapse of stage 4 lung cancer.

Speaking at the"Cafe Con Tampa" community forum on Friday morning, Redner said his lawsuit argues that the way Florida allocates licenses to growers keeps the multimillion-dollar medical marijuana industry confined to just a few companies, limiting competition and free enterprise.

"We're going to go to the Supreme Court right away; we're not going to wait,” Redner said. “It's in the Constitution. I am a patient. I am supposed to be able to get my medicine. I can't, so I'm going to make them let me have it."

Friday's event attracted several people running for local office, including Kim Overman, a candidate for the Hillsborough County Commission in District 7.

“He’s calling our state legislature on their attempt to thwart voters’ rights,” Overman said. “He’s not asking anyone to break the law. He’s asking for our legislature and our administration of our laws to be fair and to help people when they need the resources that cannabis provides.”

Redner’s lawsuit, filed last year, rests on a voter-approved constitutional amendment known as Amendment 2, which broadly legalized medical marijuana in Florida in 2016.

But whole plants are currently not allowed to be sold at medical marijuana dispensaries in Florida.

In her April ruling, Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers said the Constitution allows patients to have access to whole plants - and ruled that Redner could grow his own.

The ruling only applies to Redner, and doesn't allow other medical marijuana patients to do the same. Redner said state lawmakers are holding patients back from their treatments.

"They're not curious people, they're set in their ways, they're traditionalists, and they can't get out of their box,” Redner said. “And the problem is they're the high up people in this situation - the Mel Semblers - the guys who really can't discern and can't think.”

Redner isn't the only one pushing back against the state. Orlando attorney John Morgan will challenge the state’s ban on smoking marijuana in court later this month.
 
Here is another one for you, @Vicki There is an embedded vid in the article but you need to follow the link in the title below to see it. Can't copy it over.

Nice looking buts in the pic, though.

Floridians push for right to smoke medical marijuana

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (CAPITOL NEWS SERVICE) - A Bradenton woman who says her suffering from ALS is decreased because of smokable medical marijuana gets her day in court Wednesday.

Marijuana+33.jpg

She and other plaintiffs are challenging the state's ban on smokable medicine.

As lawmakers debated the rules for medical marijuana, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri was adamant.

“We don’t think there should be smokable marijuana,” Gualtieri told lawmakers in January 2017.

Fast forward five months, and John Morgan, the man who bankrolled the amendment, filed his “No Smoke is a Joke" lawsuit.

He argues people knew what they wanted.

“The vast majority, if not 100 percent knew that smoke was included,” Morgan told reporters.

The constitutional amendment mentions smoking just once; it says smoking can’t be in public.

In a January hearing, advocates argued that means it can be smoked in private.

Jon Mills is the Amendment 2 Author.

“There’s no question that the definition of marijuana in this constitutional provision includes smokable marijuana,” said Mills.

The state says otherwise.

Rebecca Nordby, the attorney for the Department of Health said, “There is no express requirement that smoking medical marijuana has to be allowed.”

Plaintiff Cathy Jordan and her husband Robert say that smoking marijuana has kept her ALS at bay for more than 20 years.

“Noticeable difference,” Robert told us when it came to vaping or edibles.

Jeff Sharkey of the Medical Marijuana Business Association says it will likely come down to what doctors recommend.

“If the amendment didn’t say it was prohibited then, implicitly, it’s allowed,” said Sharkey.

The same judge in this case recently ruled that a Tampa man could grow his own marijuana based on a doctor’s recommendation.

The state opposed that, just as it opposes this.

And no matter how the judge rules, the loser is likely to appeal.
 
Judge to decide Florida ban on smokable medical marijuana
By joe reedy, associated press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — May 16, 2018, 10:55 PM ET

A Florida judge will soon decide if patients approved to use medical marijuana will be allowed to smoke it.

Leon County circuit court Judge Karen Gievers heard testimony Wednesday from two women with terminal illnesses challenging the state's ban on smoking cannabis.

Voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 allowing the use of medical marijuana. The only mention of smoking in the amendment's language and in an intent document during the 2016 campaign was that the Legislature and local governments could restrict it in public places.

"I don't think you need to be too much of a legal scholar to understand it means it is allowed in other places," said John Morgan, who led the effort to get the constitutional amendment passed.

The Legislature last year passed enacting laws that banned the sale of smoking products, saying that poses a health risk. The laws, which were signed by Florida Gov. Rick Scott in June, state that patients can use cannabis through vaping and in food, oils, sprays and tinctures.

Jon Mills, who represented the plaintiffs, said in closing arguments that the intent document clearly laid out that private use was not illegal.

"It does allow regulation of amount but not type. Clearly smokable marijuana is a type of marijuana," he said.

Deputy Solicitor General Rachel Nordby, representing the state, deemed the law was constitutional because the Legislature has a role in policing public health concerns.

"This case is not about what is or what is not marijuana. This case is about is the permissible plain uses of marijuana," she said.

One of the women who appeared was Cathy Jordan, who has had ALS since 1986. Jordan told the judge that smoking the plant is the only effective way for her to use it as medicine.

Jordan testified that smoking it dries her excess saliva, increases her appetite and works as a muscle relaxer.

"The edibles cause terrible stomach pain and vaping makes me gag," she said. "Smoking makes my life a lot more bearable."

Jordan said that when she was diagnosed with ALS — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — doctors thought she would live only three to five more years. She credits smoking with helping to prolong her life and has been supported by her physicians.

"Today we saw a woman literally fighting for her life hoping to smoke medical marijuana ... ," Morgan said. "The state of Florida is in fact trying to take her life and so many like her. If I was (Attorney General) Pam Bondi and Rick Scott I'd take a look at this video and say enough is enough. Let's stop the politics and let these people live."

John Tupps, a spokesman for Gov. Scott, said the state's Department of Health has been "working nonstop" to implement the law that was passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority.

"Implementing Amendment 2 has been delayed by the constant litigation filed by special interests," he said.

Diana Dodson, who has had HIV since 1991, testified that vaping is 50 percent less effective than smoking and that smoking allows her to get the proper dosage needed.

Gievers isn't expected to take much time in ruling on the case. Both sides, though, agree that this is likely the first step in a longer legal battle.

"The judge implied as much herself. Whatever her ruling is, this ain't stopping in Leon County Circuit Court," said Ben Pollara, who runs Florida for Care, a nonprofit medical marijuana advocacy group. "I've always thought we had a strong case. It is in the constitution and pretty clear conflict with the statute."
 
Alright! Finally some good news out of Florida.... @Vicki this ought to make you happy! :biggrin:
Florida: Court Strikes Down Legislative Ban On Medical Cannabis Smoking

A Florida Circuit Court judge ruled today that a legislatively enacted ban on the smoking of medical cannabis in private by qualified patients is unconstitutional.

Lawmakers in 2017 passed Senate Bill 8A — which sought to amend provisions in Amendment 2, a voter initiated constitutional amendment permitting the use and distribution of marijuana for medical purposes. Specifically, SB 8A prohibited the possession of marijuana “in a form for smoking” and barred the use of herbal cannabis except in instances where it is contained “in a sealed tamper-proof receptacle for vaping.” Seventy-one percent of Florida voters approved Amendment 2 in November 2016.

Backers of Amendment 2, including the group Florida for Care and longtime medical activist Cathy Jordan, challenged the ‘no smoking’ ban — arguing that lawmakers improperly sought to overrule the will of the electorate. Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers today ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

“Section 381.986, Florida Statutes (2017) unconstitutionally restricts rights that are protected in the Constitution, and so the statutory prohibition against the use of smokeable marijuana permitted by [a] qualifying patient is declared invalid and unenforceable,” the judge ruled. “Qualifying patients have the right to use the form of medical marijuana for [the] treatment of their debilitating medical condition as recommended by their certified physicians, including the use of smokable marijuana in private places.”

NORML has long argued against regulations that limit or restrict patients’ access to whole plant herbal cannabis. Many patients seeking rapid relief from symptoms do not benefit from cannabis-infused pills, tinctures, or edibles because they possess delayed onset compared to inhaled cannabis and are far more variable in their effects.

“This ruling is a victory for Florida voters and, in particular, Florida’s patient community,” NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said. “These legislatively enacted restrictions arbitrarily sought to limit patients’ choices in a manner that violated the spirit of the law, and cynically sought to deny patients the ability to obtain rapid relief from whole-plant cannabis in a manner that has long proven to be relatively safe and effective.”

The Court’s opinion in the case: People United for Medical Marijuana et al v. Florida department of Health et al., appears online here.
 
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