James Call
State Sen. Jeff Brandes is the first out of the gate with a medical marijuana bill for the 2015 legislative session. Brandes filed Monday the Florida Medical Marijuana, Act which authorizes physicians to use marijuana to treat patients afflicted with one of 14 specific illnesses.
Brandes’ proposal creates two licensing processes, one for the cultivation and processing of medical marijuana and another for retail. It also empowers county commissions to decide whether a retail location will be permitted and the number to allow.
The proposal appears to address a business concern some lobbyists have expressed; whether the limited number of patients eligible under The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014 can support a medicinal marijuana industry. The current law authorizes the use of cannabis oil for epileptic and cancer patients.
Brandes would permit medical-grade marijuana with any concentration of individual cannabinoids needed to treat the patient’s condition or symptoms. The conditions included in the proposal are:
- Cancer
- HIV
- AIDS
- Epilepsy
- ALS
- Crohn’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease, and
- Any physical medical condition or treatment for a medical condition which chronically produces the following qualifying symptoms: Cachexia or wasting syndrome; persistent seizures; severe and persistent nausea; severe and persistent muscle spasms; severe and persistent pain.
Growers would be required to pay a $100,000 licensing fee and hold a $5 million bond. They would be required to have the crop tested by an independent laboratory before distributing it to a licensed retailer.
Retailers would be required to pay a $10,000 license fee and take out a million-dollar bond.
The measure states that each county commission must decide if they will allow retail facilities, as well as determine the number and location, before the Department of Health may license any retail facility in a county.
DOH would have a Jan. 1, 2016, deadline to establish operating standards for the cultivation, processing, packaging, labeling and sale of medical-grade marijuana, develop licensure application forms and begin accepting applications for licenses.
Licenses would be issued beginning July, 1, 2016.
“I love his enthusiasm for this issue,” said one lobbyist when discussing Brandes’ interest in medicinal marijuana.
DOH missed a Jan. 1 deadline to have a regulatory structure in place for the 2014 law. The department and stakeholders will hold a negotiated rule-making workshop in Tallahassee in February.
