Sen. Jeff Brandes didn't wait for United for Care's next amendment to reach the ballot. The St. Petersburg Republican this morning filed SB 528, a bill that would authorize doctors to treat patients suffering from one of 14 specific illnesses with medical marijuana.
The Florida Medical Marijuana Act, as it's called, would create separate licensing procedures for 1) growing and processing the plant and 2) retailing it. The bill gives county commissioners the power to decide product availability -- whether to allow a dispensary within its borders and, if so, how many.
According to the bill, growers would have to pay a $100,000 licensing fee and hold a $5 million bond. Plus, they would be required to get the crop tested by an independent lab before they could distribute it to a licensed retailer.
Retailers' obligation would be a $10,000 license fee backed with a $1 million bond.
"Senate Bill 528 is a very good start and we believe one that would serve as a huge step forward for Florida's suffering patients and their families," said Elias Egozi, state director for United for Care, who blasted the news to the amendment proponents' email list.
He called it "BIG news!"
"This bill proves that the massive support we received in the last election -- 58 percent of voters -- plus our quick work to bring the petition back for 2016 is getting recognized by reasonable legislators like Senator Brandes," Egozi wrote.
By including 14 different illnesses, Brandes' proposal addresses a problem growers expressed, that the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014 passed last year wouldn't provide enough patients to make a medicinal marijuana industry in Florida worth their while. That legislation, nicknamed "the Charlotte's Web Bill," only allowed cannabis oil for epilepsy and cancer patients.
Brandes' bill doesn't specify a concentration of cannabinoids in the marijuana to treat symptoms.
It does name the conditions to which it applies: cancer, HIV, AIDS, epilepsy, ALS, Crohn's disease, and Parkinson's disease.
Also, the bill includes any physical medical condition or treatment for a medical condition that chronically produces these symptoms: cachexia or wasting syndrome, persistent seizures, severe and persistent nausea, severe and persistent muscle spasms, severe and persistent pain.
The Department of Health, currently dragging its feet on implementing rules for the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014, would have a Jan. 1, 2016, deadline "to establish operating standards for the cultivation, processing, packaging, labeling and sale of medical-grade marijuana, develop licensure application forms and begin accepting applications for licenses."
Date set for licenses to begin being issued is July, 1, 2016.
To many, the surprise in the new bill is that it comes from a Republican. "I think we've got a real shot now," Jerry Dreyfus, a Chron's disease sufferer and medical marijuana proponent from Fort Myers told Sunshine State News. "Nothing seems to happen in Tallahassee unless the Republicans want it."
Attorney John Morgan, founder of United for Care, issued a statement shortly after the bill was filed:
"I am extraordinarily encouraged by Sen. Brandes introducing this important piece of legislation," said Morgan. "He has clearly heard and respects the voice of the vast majority of Floridians who want to see a compassionate medical marijuana law in our state.
"I sincerely hope that with his leadership the Legislature will finally act on this issue in the upcoming session. My brother Tim and hundreds of thousands of suffering Floridians like him, are counting on it, he concluded.
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews or at 228-282-2423. Twitter: @NancyLBSmith
