Florida Lawmakers Seek to Limit Strength of Smokable Medical Cannabis
[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]L[/dropcap]ess than a month after Florida reversed its ban on smokable medical cannabis, a House committee approved a bill to limit the strength of cannabis flower for medical cannabis patients.
The House Health and Human Services Committee voted to cap tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels in smokable medical cannabis at 10 percent. Committee Chairman Ray Rodrigues, who proposed the legislation, pointed to studies that show that daily use of highly potent cannabis can be linked to an increased risk in psychosis.
“We believe that there’s science that shows greater than 10 percent THC has been linked to harmful effects, so that’s why we’ve chosen the 10 percent limit. There’s also science out there that has shown that less than 10 percent is effective for medical purposes, and so we have used that as the delineation,” Rodrigues said.
Opponents of the bill argue that the cap will lead to greater use of the low-level THC cannabis, which results in patients having to buy more cannabis to achieve the desired effect.
“It blocks access to the current strength of medical marijuana that has helped thousands of patients in the state already. The bill is only going to increase the cost for patients. It’s going to drive the underground market up,” said Melissa Villar of Holistic Marijuana Community.
The bill also includes a provision that would allow for veterans to get free medical-cannabis patient identification cards, which costs patients $75 a year. However, waiving the fee for veterans caused patients to accuse Rodrigues of using veterans as a way to distract from the controversial THC levels included in the bill.
“We can’t put this cap on the backs of veterans,” said Tonya Bailey, a veteran with the group Buds for Vets. “You don’t put a 10-milligram limit for morphine, would you tell a cancer patient they can only have 10 milligrams of that? It’s unacceptable and ineffective,” she said.
