Marijuana advocates fired up over rules

FORT LAUDERDALE — The state office that regulates medical marijuana got an earful from more than 200 doctors, patients and would-be growers Tuesday at a meeting about proposed statewide rules.

The state’s Office of Compassionate Use, which regulates medical marijuana in Florida, is holding public meetings throughout the state on its proposed rules regarding medical marijuana.

At the Broward County Health Department on Tuesday, 200 people packed a room set up for about 70, crowding down the aisles, pouring out the door.

Florida voters in November approved a constitutional amendment allowing medical marijuana for patients who suffer from cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or another debilitating medical conditions “of the same kind or class.”

People with terminal illnesses who have less than a year to live already qualify under state law, as do people with epilepsy, muscle spasms or cancer, though they only have access to non-euphoric strains of marijuana.

The state agency has until July 1 to figure out the rules. They’ll need to decide whether to expand the number of growers from the current seven allowed under state law. Plus, they await several plans in the Florida Legislature that will expand access and the ability to grow and sell medical marijuana. The legislative session ends in May, so any new laws will be passed before the Florida Department of Health’s July deadline.

The public feedback on the proposed regulations consisted of six primary concerns about whether the rules would:

Greatly expand the number of businesses allowed to grow, process and sell medical marijuana.

End vertical integration, the requirement that a medical marijuana business must grow, process, deliver and sell marijuana, rather than simply being growers or sales shops.

End the requirement in state law that a patient must wait 90 days from their first doctor visit until that doctor can recommend marijuana.

Prohibit offering marijuana edibles in packaging that is appealing to children.

Remove wording that other diseases that qualify for medical marijuana that are not listed in the amendment will be determined by the Florida Board of Medicine.

Take a liberal approach to which unlisted diseases qualify, to include such ailments as inflammatory bowel syndrome (similar to Crohn’s disease) or anxiety disorders (similar to PTSD).

Doctors were especially adamant about ending the 90-day rule and the Florida Board of Medicine’s role. The board is a 15-member administrative body whose members are appointed by the governor.

“Ninety days is too long,” said Dr. Honey Milestone, an obstetrician-gynecologist who spoke at the meeting. “I can already meet a patient, do a physical and write a prescription for an opiate.”

“I think the physicians are the ones who should be deciding what is a debilitating medical condition,” said Dr. Michelle Weiner.

But mostly, advocates, doctors and would-be patients want the system to work faster.

“People will suffer for no reason and they will die when they may not have to,” said Ann Fonfa, founder of the Annie Appleseed Project, which advocates for alternative medicines for cancer patients. “It’s troubling to me that we approach it this way.

“It’s a medicine. Treat it as such.”

Christian Bax, director of the Office of Compassionate Use, said little throughout the proceedings and took no questions afterward.