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Staff ReportsOctober 15, 2018

With thousands of people still without power after Hurricane Michael, the state’s Department of Health is warning of the danger of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. Generators “can cause CO to build up in a home and poison the people and animals inside,” a Monday press release said. “CO is found in fumes produced by burning […]

Staff ReportsAugust 6, 2018

With a new controlled substances bill having gone into effect last month, the Department of Health Monday announced a new “Take Control” campaign, including a website. The measure (HB 21) “was passed to address the opioid crisis by limiting the risk of overprescribing for acute pain, and it will not impact patients who have established […]

Jim RosicaMay 9, 2018

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 […]

Jim RosicaMarch 9, 2018

[Ed. Note — This story, first posted Thursday, was updated Friday.] Lawmakers on Thursday included a provision to withhold more than $1.9 million in Department of Health salaries and benefits in the final 2018-19 state budget until regulators fully implement medical marijuana. The proviso language, which “qualifies or restricts a specific appropriation,” means certain Health officials will get […]

Jim RosicaFebruary 5, 2018

Four times, lawmakers on Monday gave the state’s top medical marijuana regulator an opportunity to speak on their objections to rules and regulations on the drug. And four times, Christian Bax said nothing because it wasn’t yet time to do so, he later explained. “The department has 30 days in order to respond,” Bax, director of […]

Jim RosicaDecember 14, 2017

An epic 238-page lawsuit filed by Joe Redner‘s Florigrown company—replete with references to Encyclopedia Britannica, ancient Roman medical texts and the Nixon White House tapes—alleges that the state is failing its responsibility to carry out the people’s will when it comes to medical marijuana. The complaint was filed Wednesday in Leon County Circuit Civil court […]

Jim RosicaJuly 6, 2017

Medical marijuana advocate John Morgan says cannabis smoking doesn’t “impair lung function” and even “increase(s) lung capacity,” as part of his lawsuit to be filed against the state Thursday. Florida Politics on Wednesday night acquired a copy of the 15-page complaint that Morgan says he will file in Leon Circuit Civil court in Tallahassee—against which a […]

Guest AuthorJune 6, 2017

The United States is in the midst of a public health crisis. Opioid addiction is taking mothers, fathers and children; destroying lives, breaking up families. The problem is particularly insidious in Florida, which has become a destination for rehabilitative services and sober home living. In the first part of 2016, approximately 2,600 people died from opioid overdoses in […]

Associated PressJune 1, 2017

Seven babies have been born in Florida with birth defects linked to the Zika virus. The Orlando Sentinel reports that State Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip told Orlando-area officials Tuesday that seven babies with Zika-related neurological conditions have been born in Florida since June 2016. Philip did not say where the babies lived or whether […]

Scott PowersMay 30, 2017

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Celeste Philip and Gov. Rick Scott told a roundtable of Orange County public health officials in Orlando Tuesday that Zika preparedness is up and incidents and rain down this year, but the risk of another major disease outbreak remains significant and no one should abandon precautions. Florida has seen 50 confirmed case […]

Tag: Celeste Philip

Health officials warn of silent killer after storm

Health Dept. launches controlled substances awareness campaign

Lawmakers fire another warning shot over medical marijuana rules

Legislature slashing Health Dep’t pay because of medical marijuana delays

Medical marijuana regulator’s silence vexes lawmakers

Joe Redner’s Florigrown files mammoth medical marijuana lawsuit

John Morgan’s suit says smoking pot actually good for the lungs

Timothy Stapleton: Fighting the opioid epidemic in the exam room

Florida: 7 babies born with Zika-related birth defects

Celeste Philip: current indicators improved, but Zika threat remains serious