Medical marijuana is legal in Florida, but the issue continues to stir controversy.
The first sales of medical marijuana likely will begin in the next months, when the Florida Department of Health sets up its program for delivering the cannabis-based product.
While 28 businesses have applied for one of five permits that will be issued statewide, no Pasco County business is on the list.
And now, the Pasco County Commission is joining other jurisdictions around the state that have either adopted or have drafted moratoriums on growing and dispensing cannabis.
The county had its first public hearing on Aug. 18 on a proposed ordinance calling for a one-year moratorium.
County officials and Pasco County commissioners made no comment on the on the ordinance.
Commissioners are s
cheduled to have a second public hearing and a vote on Sept. 2.
The first public hearing drew only one speaker during public comment. He came from Pinellas County with some advice for commissioners.
“I would speak to the patients,” said John Chase. “I’m not a marijuana user myself, but I know people whose lives depend on this. I don’t want to see a moratorium.”
Chase said he knows families in Pasco County who need medical marijuana. He expects more people will show up for the final hearing.
Medical marijuana appeared on the 2014 ballot as a constitutional amendment. Supporters fell just short of the necessary 60 percent vote to approve the amendment. Petitioners are seeking signatures to put it on the state’s ballot again in 2016.
And, an appeals judge recently cleared away legal challenges to the state law that allows for dispensing what is known as “Charlotte’s web,” a low-strain of medical marijuana for patients with epilepsy or advanced cancer.
The next step is for the state health department to review the 28 applications filed by the July deadline. Permits are expected in the next three months. The locations will be in five geographic regions around the state.
To date, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in some form while 17 states have rejected such measures. Four states – Oregon, Washington, Colorado and Alaska – have legalized marijuana for recreational use. And Ohio could become the fifth state, and the first in the Midwest, to permit recreational use, if voters approve a constitutional amendment in November.
As Florida’s medical marijuana program gears up, a number of local jurisdictions, like Pasco County, are adopting or drafting their versions of moratoriums. Some are banning dispensaries and treatment centers, at least temporarily, while others are changing zoning laws to restrict their locations.
One requirement of applicants is that they are properly zoned to cultivate, process and dispense cannabis, and also demonstrate an ability to produce high quality product quickly, according to an email from Mara Burger, press secretary for the state’s health department.
The focus is on delivering “safe and effective treatment options,” she writes.
State health officials are taking note of actions such as moratoriums and are “closely monitoring municipal activity across the state to determine any potential impact on patient accessibility or applicant performance.”
Published August 26, 2015
