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A Republican senator has filed a bill that would allow Florida doctors to prescribe a 30-day supply of “medical-grade” marijuana to patients with certain illnesses.
Under SB 528, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, medical marijuana could be prescribed only to patients diagnosed with any of nine diseases or five severe symptoms, such as seizures or persistent pain. However, before they could fill a prescription, patients must be listed on state-run registry of users and obtain and present a photo identification card.
File photo
“We are very excited to see Senator Brandes file this important piece of legislation,” said Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida for Care, which pushes for medical marijuana legislation. Pollara believes that Brandes’ 28-page bill addresses problems that led to the defeat of Amendment 2 in November.
The ballot measure would have legalized medical marijuana for patients with “debilitating diseases,” — a vague phrase that left many voters wondering exactly how and when the drug would be prescribed, Pollara said. By specifying the illnesses and symptoms, Brandes’ bill “strikes balance between” between a closed list of diseases and the broad language in Amendment 2, Pollara said.
Brandes’ bill also addresses some procedural issues that surfaced after the passage of a bill last year that legalized less potent cannabis oil for seizure patients. Although the governor signed the bill, called Charlotte’s Web, into law, it has not gone into effect because of legal challenges and regulators’ inability to draft rules to implement and enforce it.
Among the most controversial issues: a lottery system and later a committee that was proposed to divvy up five licenses to grow and process marijuana. Brandes’ bill simply puts a cap of $100,000 on a license and punts the problem of selling medical marijuana to the local level, where a county commission’s approval would be needed before a license could be issued.
Pollara said his group intended to push its own version of a bill. However, after seeing Brandes’ bill, Pollara said his group will likely opt to endorse it.
“It has a very, very strong chance of passage,” Pollara said.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/n...s-medical-marijuana-bill-that-amendmen/njxX6/
Under SB 528, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, medical marijuana could be prescribed only to patients diagnosed with any of nine diseases or five severe symptoms, such as seizures or persistent pain. However, before they could fill a prescription, patients must be listed on state-run registry of users and obtain and present a photo identification card.
File photo
“We are very excited to see Senator Brandes file this important piece of legislation,” said Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida for Care, which pushes for medical marijuana legislation. Pollara believes that Brandes’ 28-page bill addresses problems that led to the defeat of Amendment 2 in November.
The ballot measure would have legalized medical marijuana for patients with “debilitating diseases,” — a vague phrase that left many voters wondering exactly how and when the drug would be prescribed, Pollara said. By specifying the illnesses and symptoms, Brandes’ bill “strikes balance between” between a closed list of diseases and the broad language in Amendment 2, Pollara said.
Brandes’ bill also addresses some procedural issues that surfaced after the passage of a bill last year that legalized less potent cannabis oil for seizure patients. Although the governor signed the bill, called Charlotte’s Web, into law, it has not gone into effect because of legal challenges and regulators’ inability to draft rules to implement and enforce it.
Among the most controversial issues: a lottery system and later a committee that was proposed to divvy up five licenses to grow and process marijuana. Brandes’ bill simply puts a cap of $100,000 on a license and punts the problem of selling medical marijuana to the local level, where a county commission’s approval would be needed before a license could be issued.
Pollara said his group intended to push its own version of a bill. However, after seeing Brandes’ bill, Pollara said his group will likely opt to endorse it.
“It has a very, very strong chance of passage,” Pollara said.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/n...s-medical-marijuana-bill-that-amendmen/njxX6/
