Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, told Sunshine State News Tuesday he is sorry to see Patricia Nelson leave the new Office of Compassionate Use, but he isn't worried her departure will delay or confuse the process of selecting which of 30 nurseries will receive the five licenses to grow and dispense cannabis in Florida.
Nelson, director of the Compassionate Use office since December, left to return to Gov. Rick Scott's Office of Policy and Budget, the state Department of Health confirmed. She had served in the governor's office for four years before taking the DOH job.
Her replacement has not yet been found. Nor would authorities say why she left the post at what seems a critical juncture.
Bradley, chairman of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, said. "Patty did an excellent job through a complicated, contentious rulemaking process. With her grounding in administrative law, she was just what we needed to get the ball moving and I can't thank her enough for it."
The only medical marijuana that can be processed provides no “high” for the user, but it has been shown to help ease symptoms in epilepsy and cancer patients. The Legislature legalized the low-THC strain of marijuana 14 months ago, but a flurry of challenges to the rules have kept it from the public.
Bradley said the selection process "shouldn't be delayed," that the deadline for applications passed earlier this month. He emphasized that he has "genuine confidence" in Surgeon General John Armstrong.
The applications for permits are in the hands of a DOH committee," he said, which means Armstrong has complete oversight. "The surgeon general has always delivered on his promises, so I have complete faith that we will stay on schedule and adhere to the rules."
Meanwhile, United for Care, the organization responsible for putting medical marijuana on the 2014 ballot, claimed during the first week of July that it was less than 5,000 petitions away from doing the same thing again in 2016. The organization founded and bankrolled by attorney John Morgan wants full-strength medical marijuana avalable on a doctor's prescription.
"We collected over a million petitions in 2014 and nearly 3.4 million people voted 'yes' for medical marijuana," said Ben Pollara, United for Care campaign manager. "There is no question in my mind that we will get medical marijuana back on the ballot for 2016."
Pollara said the effort wouldn't be necessary "if the Legislature hadn't turned its back on the patients of Florida."
In April, Surgeon General Armstrong walked into a buzz saw during his Senate confirmation hearing when he skirted a question on Medicaid expansion. Asked three times if he thought the Senate's health plan would improve health outcomes, he repeatedly replied only that he was "monitoring" the conversations. His confirmation was postponed; the new medical marijuana law played no part in it.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
