Florida Senator Submits Bill that would Legalize Medical Marijuana

On Monday, a top Republican state senator filed a bill which would allow Floridians who suffer from debilitating medical conditions access to medical-grade marijuana. The bill mirrors parts of the proposed constitutional amendment that did not meet the 60 percent threshold to pass during the November 2014 midterm elections.

Senator Jeff Brandes submitted a 28-page legislation, which seeks to regulate the cultivation, distribution and use of medical marijuana in Florida. Senator Brandes opposed amendment 2, because he believes that the state Legislature should be in charge of making major changes to healthcare and criminal law in Florida.

“We should allow for physicians and patients to make decisions about their medical care,” Brandes said. “It’s about the physician-patient relationship — for me, that’s the compelling reason. You hear stories of people struggling.”

This move is a big step towards passing a medical marijuana law without having to bring the issue back to voters in 2016. If this bill is not approved and no other bills are submitted, we can expect to see medical marijuana on the 2016 ballot.

Before the November midterm elections, the Florida Legislature passed the Charlotte’s Web bill, which legalized a low-THC, high-CBD strain of marijuana which is often used to treat people that suffer from epilepsy. That law has not gone into effect and it is currently stuck in the middle of court challenges and bureaucratic red tape.

Brandes said that the Charlotte’s Web bill is not enough for Florida. Florida has the fourth largest population in the United States and a significant percentage of Florida’s population is over the age of 65. “There are other people who need or want access to medical cannabis,” Brandes said.

What is allowed under the new legislation?

Under Brandes’ legislation, qualified patients could receive up to a 30-day supply of medical marijuana from a licensed, regulated facility. The patients must be properly examined by a physician, who would be required to write a prescription-like recommendation for the drug.

The bill requires Governor Rick Scott’s approval and it is impossible to measure the probability of that happening.  Governor Scott surprised many Floridians when he signed the Charlotte’s Web bill into law. Governor Scott is known for rarely commenting on pending legislation, especially when the legislation is in its infancy. 

Brandes said that he believes more people should have the right to access marijuana as long as it’s properly regulated and recommended by a physician. He said he expects to have a House sponsor for the legislation in the coming weeks. The 60-day legislative session begins in March.

“I’ve talked to the governor directly. I’ve talked to the Senate president,” Brandes said. “I’ve talked to the leadership in the House — not the speaker, but the leadership — and I think they’re open minded. I’m not going to say it’s a slam dunk.”

Conservatives still have grave reservations about changing marijuana laws in Florida. After the 2014 midterm election, however, Republicans recognized the strong support for medical marijuana.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, told the Bradenton Herald last week that the issue had a better shot of passing this year. It would need to be very strictly regulated, Steube told the paper. We would want the bill to say, ’Here are the medical issues you can take it for, that’s it.

Who can be prescribed medical marijuana under Brandes’ bill?

The bill lists out the specific medical conditions that a patient must suffer from if he or she wants to be prescribed medical marijuana. These conditions are:

• cancer
• positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)
• epilepsy
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• multiple sclerosis
• Crohn’s disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• cachexia or wasting syndrome
• severe and persistent pain
• severe and persistent nausea
• persistent seizures
• severe and persistent muscle spasms

Brandes’ legislation also lets physicians recommend cannabis to patients who suffer from other ailments and who have exhausted other remedies and medicines to alleviate their suffering.

Under the submitted legislation, the Department of Health is in charge of setting the standards for, and regulating the cultivation and dispensing of medical marijuana. The legislation prohibits marijuana possession at schools or in prisons. Licensed patients and designated caregivers are the only people allowed to possess medical marijuana or marijuana paraphernalia.

Also, county commissioners must approve the licenses for marijuana dispensaries in their county. The state cannot simply hand out a license to a marijuana retail store without the approval of county commissioners.

What else is there to know about this bill?

Sen. Brandes’ office provided information about other aspects of the bill, these include:

• Each retail facility is a separate license and a single entity may hold more than one retail license. Retail facilities must pay a $10,000 license fee and hold a $1,000,000 bond.
• Retail facilities purchase medical-grade marijuana from cultivation and processing facilities that are licensed separately by the department and must pay a $100,000 license fee and hold a $5,000,000 bond.
• Cultivation and processing licensees are responsible for the having each batch of medical-grade marijuana tested by an independent laboratory to ensure that it meets the criteria the department sets for health and safety standards and to determine the specific types and concentrations of individual cannabinoids present in that batch.
• Each batch of medical grade marijuana must be tested, labeled, and packaged according to the requirements in the act before selling it to retail facilities.
• A cultivation and processing licensee may also be issued one or more retail licenses, however, retail operations may not be conducted at the same location as cultivation and processing operations.
• All licensed facilities are inspected at licensure and at least once every two years at license renewal by the department.
• The patient qualifies for use of medical marijuana if they have been certified by the physician to have a specified medical condition, however if the patient only has a specified severe or chronic symptom the physician must certify that the patient has exhausted available and reasonable medical treatment before qualifying for medical marijuana.
• The physician must additionally upload an order for medical-grade marijuana to the medical marijuana patient and caregiver registry which includes:
• The amount of medical-grade marijuana the physician recommends as a 30-day supply for that patient; and
• Any specific concentrations of individual cannabinoids that must be present to treat the patient’s condition or symptom.
• Once certified, the patient may apply for a medical marijuana registry ID card and will be added to the medical marijuana patient and caregiver registry.
• The patient may also designate a caregiver who meets the requirements in the act, including background screening for caregivers who are not immediate family members. The caregiver will also receive an ID card and be added to the registry.
• The patient or caregiver may purchase medical-grade marijuana that has been tested, packaged, and labeled and that meets the specifications on the physician’s order from a licensed retail facility.

Some of the legislation was based on the experience of the other states that have legalized medical marijuana and on Florida’s experience in trying to implement “Charlotte’s Web.”

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Michael Berger is Managing Partner of StoneBridge Partners, LLC and Founder of Technical420.com. Prior to entering the cannabis industry, Michael was an Equity Research Analyst at Raymond James Financial covering the Energy Sector. Michael has been featured in publications such as The Street, Bloomberg, US Money News, and hosts various cannabis events across North America.

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