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 A newly formed group called Florida For Care is planning to draft
proposed rules for how medical marijuana will be managed if voters
approve a constitutional amendment making it legal in the state.
Florida Governor Rick Scott signed a law last month that legalized
but strictly limits the distribution of a non-euphoric strain of
marijuana believed to reduce epileptic seizures.
November's referendum is a broader proposal that would allow
physicians to recommend the regular form of marijuana to people with
debilitating ailments.
Florida For Care Chairman Jon Mills, dean of the University of
Florida’s law school, said the group will directly address
frequently mentioned worries about what will happen if medical
marijuana is legalized.
“Does this mean anybody who has a headache can have access to
medical marijuana? The answer is no,” Mills said, citing one
example.
The group was launched by Ben Pollara, executive director of United
for Care, which got the amendment on the ballot and is campaigning
for its passage.
But it includes members who oppose medical marijuana such as its
vice chairman, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, a former Florida Senate
majority leader.
Mills said the group will address issues such as a patient registry
and identification cards, and the role of doctors.
The group held its first meeting by telephone on Thursday, but
public meetings are planned, he said.
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Mills said they hope to have established the broad principles of
medical marijuana use and regulation before election day, and fill
in the details afterward as a resource for the state legislature’s
decisions.
Calling medical marijuana's passage in November inevitable, a group
of Colorado "ganjapreneurs" met in Miami on Friday in the hopes of
laying the ground work for a network of dispensaries and growing
operations.
While the details of the regulatory system for Florida's would-be
marijuana industry remain unclear, Colorado advocates said hopeful
growers should begin getting their infrastructure in place ahead of
November.
"You’re going to need real estate, you’re going to need funding,"
said KC Grant, a former Colorado dispensary owner who now consults
for marijuana businesses. "If you’re going to wait for the game to
kick off you’re going to lose."
(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Additional reporting by Zachary
Fagenson in Miami; Editing by David Adams and Eric Beech)
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