A.G. Gancarski
Arguably the greatest evidence of a disconnect between Gov. Rick Scott‘s administration and the Florida Legislature can be found in the state’s medical marijuana program.
Tensions boiled over Monday in the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee, which ensures that agencies write rules that line up with statutes passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
Committee chair Kevin Rader, a Democratic state Senator from Delray Beach, put the executive branch and beleaguered Office of Medical Marijuana head Christian Bax on blast.
Bax, who got his MBA in 2015 and who has no experience administering state programs, is seen by almost no one outside the executive branch as being the right fit for the job.
“They’ve had these (objections) for four months to look at, to work on, to talk about with our staff. It’s incompetence. This has never happened … in the 40 years this committee has been meeting,” Rader said.
With some believing that the Scott administration’s botched rollout of a medical marijuana program approved by 71 percent of Florida voters amounts to deliberate sabotage, Florida Politics asked Scott his thoughts.
He did not address Bax’s competency for his position in his remarks.
“With regard to Amendment 2,” Scott said, “the Department of Health is implementing Amendment 2.”
“Already over 1,000 doctors are registered and over 40,000 patients are registered,” Scott added. “They’re doing everything they can to streamline the process and work through this process.”
“As you all know, this is a new process and they’re working very hard,” Scott concluded.
Whether that answer will reassure critics in the Legislature and throughout the state remains to be seen.
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Material from Florida Politics’ James Rosica was used in this post.
11 comments
KIRBY ANDERSON
February 6, 2018 at 1:53 pm
BS flag waiving, sue them!
Dianne
February 8, 2018 at 4:18 pm
Really, Florida does NOT have to reinvent the wheel, there are states out there who already have a model for us.
Bill Monroe
February 7, 2018 at 8:54 am
Governor Scott, with all due respect, your answers are non-answers. No solutions offered, no I will get on it response, just empty words. Do you want votes in the fall? Not going to happen unless you decide to take a leadership role on this issue.
Rebecca Jamin
February 7, 2018 at 10:21 am
Implementing? Obviously there was no action plan in place ahead of time even with them knowing that this e would probably be voted in. Thanks Rick Scott, for your less than awesome governing
Stanley
February 7, 2018 at 4:54 pm
Political rhetoric
Rosendo Penalver Jr
February 7, 2018 at 8:42 pm
Politicians that are in charge of the medical marijuana program are catering to big pharmaceutical companies. They don’t want to see this program succeed. Bought off. We will not forget you at the polls. A- holes
Bud
February 7, 2018 at 11:23 pm
Very expensive. Certifying doc costs big $$,
State license (for a prescription? ) I didn’t need a license for my opioid painkillers, and insurance paid for them.
Can only get a pill or a vapor and they’re expensive too.
All the sticky fingers taking all our money.
Stanley Vorsteg
February 8, 2018 at 7:40 am
Common sense is not so common !!
Tina
February 8, 2018 at 9:15 am
I was prescribed multiple types of opioids for over 20 YEARS – and insurance paid for them! I weaned myself off of them, despite my doctors objections. It took almost a YEAR to jump through the state hoops to become legal for medical marijuana. Now I have to spend a large portion (1/3) of my monthly disability income to obtain a better quality relief from pain, seizures, and stress. I didn’t vote for Scott to begin with (Medicare fraud!), sure as hell wouldn’t do it now!
Jay D
February 8, 2018 at 8:51 pm
Very disappointed in the system Florida set up. All that corporate money the lobbyists threw at Scott was successful. No flower, no farming? A major part of my healing process, is the connection I have with my garden. It’s rehabilitation growing my medicine from seed. Instead, I’m forced to pay top dollar for corporate grown crap that costs twice as much as the black market. Florida MMJ is a failure.
Alan Mackey
February 13, 2018 at 2:01 pm
As greedy as the m.i.c. is , Florida allows quasi corruption.
Leading us to the French system.
And old folk, ,, ,,, well they did’d like “where the boys are movie”
so they stamp out where he tells them to stamp,
Comments are closed.