Florida bill to let terminally ill use medical marijuana advances
TALLAHASSEE -- A proposal to allow terminally ill patients in Florida to use medical marijuana is headed to the Senate floor.
State Sen. Rob Bradley's measure, which passed the Fiscal Policy Committee on Thursday, has gone back to its original intent -- allowing those with terminal conditions to use nonsmokable marijuana of all strengths and doses.
Bradley had attempted to add a 22-page amendment to the bill to rectify some regulatory issues that have arisen as the Department of Health attempts to get dispensaries up and running, but the Republican from Fleming Island withdrew the amendment to get things back on track.
"It was becoming clear to me that this was turning into a vehicle for a lot of issues surrounding medical cannabis, and I wanted to refocus the debate and attention on the patients. For today, I wanted it to be about the patients I told I would help that we move their interest forward," Bradley said.
Amendments by state Sens. Joseph Abruzzo and Jeff Clemens to increase the number of distributing organizations from five to 30 were voted down in committee. Clemens' proposed amendment to make farmers or "anyone engaged in a similar agricultural activity" eligible to cultivate and distribute medical marijuana was also rejected.
The attempts to expand the Right to Try Act come as legislators look for ways to get the first medical marijuana bill passed two years ago to fruition. The Right to Try Act, which passed last year, allows patients to try any medicine that has passed the first phase of a FDA clinical trial.
When Gov. Rick Scott signed the Compassionate Cannabis Act in 2014, the intention was to get low-THC marijuana into the hands of families to treat certain illnesses, including childhood epilepsy, by January 2015.
More than a year later, that process remains a work in progress.
This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Florida bill to let terminally ill use medical marijuana advances ."