FLORIDA. Individuals are enrolling to obtain medicinal marijuana in Florida in record numbers, around 3,000 new patients per week. As of March 2019, an outstanding amount of individuals have enrolled in the state to take the medication.
The NBC6 Investigators discovered that more patients are taking therapeutic marijuana for persistent pain than anything else.
A report, issued by the Physician Certification Pattern Review Panel, demonstrates that from January through September of 2018, an amount exceeding 48,000 individuals were authorized to take the medication for pain-related conditions. The second most distinguished condition in Florida was post-traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD.
The Florida Department of Health is the office that runs this program. First, they said that they couldn’t disclose the data. Later, a representative said it was “secured” data under the law despite the fact that more than 20 states across the country disclose this type of data.
“It quite frankly doesn’t make any sense,” Jorge Silva, a medical lawyer and teacher at Florida International University (FIU), stated at the time. He also stated that there was really no reason for the state to withhold this information from the public. Said information was withheld until the NBC6 Investigators connected with State Representative Rene Plasencia, R-Titusville, who created a medical marijuana bill particularizing with public records. He revealed to NBC6 that the Department of Health (DOH) has an order to gather the information and give it to state officials every year. After the discussion with Rep. Plasencia, a representative with the Health Department considered their underlying refusal the demand a misconception.
Subsequently, they furnished a report that shows that out of the 11,796 individuals who are authorized to take the medication in Miami Dade, 4,176 take it for pain. In Broward County, where most people use the medicinal marijuana for PTSD, more than 4,500 individuals are authorized to use this drug.
Now, the patients that have signed up can take medical marijuana in an assortment of ways that incorporate vaping or orally ingesting pot oil and utilizing patches to put on their skin. At the moment, it’s illegal to smoke cannabis in Florida, however that could be changing soon. Officials could take last votes on two different bills by March 15, 2019 that would make smoking medicinal marijuana legal.
Additionally, this medication could start to become more accessible. Florida voters could choose if everybody ought to approach the plant legitimately, not simply the individuals who have medicinal marijuana ID cards.
Via: NBC Miami
March 12, 2019