It’s been two years since state lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott approved it, but Florida first medical cannabis dispensary is scheduled to open next week! Just yesterday, the Florida Department of Health gave Trulieve- a North Florida grower and dispensary- the permission it needed to open in Tallahassee and start delivering cannabis statewide.
When they open on Tuesday, it will be the first time strains of the drug will be available under a law from 2014 meant to give patients with cancer and seizures access to a strain of medical marijuana low in THC, the chemical that causes the “high” feeling.
And they won’t be alone; five additional nurseries are growing and extracting oil from cannabis and could soon join Trulieve in legally selling medical marijuana. Alpha/Surterra, based in Tampa and Tallahassee, is close to releasing their first products, as well.
Many patients (some of whom are children) have been waiting for all the legal challenges to settle and for the drafting of state regulations- all of which delayed the drug’s release.
From the article:
“To access the drug legally under the new program, patients must be approved by a doctor who has passed a medical cannabis course. Then, they can place an order with any of the licensed dispensaries in the state.”
While Trulieve plans to open additional dispensaries outside Tallahassee, in the meantime, patients can order the drug from anywhere in the state- it takes less than a week to be delivered.
More from the article:
“Full-strength medical marijuana will be available for terminally ill patients in early August. The Florida Legislature this spring passed a law allowing patients within a year of death to try the drug if two doctors believe it will help them.
Patients with a wider range of conditions could have access to full-strength marijuana if a constitutional amendment legalizing the drug for medical purposes passes in this November’s election.”
The state law allows dispensaries to sell cannabis oil that can be injected, taken as a pill or consumed by methods other than smoking. We are so happy to see this law finally take effect and happy for the families who have been waiting for this plant’s AMAZING healing properties.
Source: Miami Herald
