Supporters of medical marijuana on Wednesday celebrated the landslide victory of Amendment 2 as long-needed relief for Florida’s sickest patients.
But it will likely be many months before most of the estimated 450,000 people who qualify for the drug will actually have access to it. And the fight over just how the law will actually take shape has yet to begin.
The constitutional amendment, which guarantees the right of patients with certain “debilitating” illness the right to use cannabis, takes effect in January.
But Florida lawmakers must still draft rules for how the law will be implemented and regulated, a process that will begin in March. Patients themselves must have a 90-day relationship with physicians licensed by the state to obtain marijuana.
Orlando attorney John Morgan on Wednesday warned lawmakers to not drag their feet or load up the new law with burdensome restrictions.
“When 70 percent of the state of Florida says we want something, I believe, if they don’t hear it, if they do play games again, they could suffer at the ballot box,” Morgan told reporters.
More than 71 percent of Floridians voted in favor of Amendment 2, well over the 60 percent required for passage, according to unofficial returns. It was a dramatic turnaround from 2014, when a similar measure earned just under 58 percent of the vote.
Opponents of the amendment said Tuesday night they plan to shift their fight to the Legislature.
They have called for a ban on cannabis-laced candy, limits on the levels of euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, “tightly” define what constitutes a debilitating condition and allow communities to ban pot shops.
Existing Florida law already allowed for limited access to low THC medical marijuana.
Patients with certain medical conditions, such as those suffering from seizures, may obtain a non-euphoric strain of cannabis through state-approved doctors and growers. Patients with illnesses considered “terminal” may obtain full-strength marijuana.
However the new law pans out, Florida’s nascent cannabis industry is poised for significant growth in the coming years.
“We’re ready to help patients – it’s all about what’s best for the patient – as we move forward,” said Susan Driscoll, president of Surterra Therapeutics, the first company to win Florida approval to grow and harvest medical cannabis. “So, we’re looking to make sure we can quickly expand cultivation, the supply of the product so that we meet the patients’ needs.”
For more information about Amendment 2, contact the Florida Office of Compassionate Use.
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Full Article: Medical Marijuana Is Legal In Florida So Now What?
Author: Frank Gluck
Contact: Florida Today
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