 Six years after Florida residents voted to legalize medical cannabis use, Florida regulators have set new rules on THC dosage amounts and supply limits for patients.
The new limits began taking effect this week. Patients using non-smokable cannabis will have a daily THC dosage capped at: • 60 milligrams for edibles • 350 milligrams for vape product • 200 milligrams for capsules and tinctures • 190 milligrams for sublingual tinctures and suppositories • 150 milligrams for topicals. These daily caps will be monitored by placing a larger overall THC cap for a 70 day period. Patients using smokable flower will have their limit based on weight, which will be a maximum of 2.5 ounces of smokable flower that is able to be purchased over a 35 day period. There will be an option for doctor’s to seek an exemption for patients who require more, though. The Office of Medical Marijuana Use will provide instructional guides and calculators to determine how much patients have purchased, how much they can buy and when their orders can be renewed. Barry Gordon, a doctor with Compassionate Cannabis Clinic in Venice said he believes these limits show that the Department of Health has, “utter disregard … for not only the doctors who actively participate in the program with honor and integrity and diligence, “ but also, “the patients who are disrespected.” Dr. David Berger, owner of Wholistic ReLeaf said, “If we’re supposed to be partners with a patient, the state and trying to implement a successful program, I don’t understand why they’re putting these additional restrictions on it and I don’t really see the purpose of it.” Some industry insiders pointed out that patients who purchase products that don’t work well for them will be unable to buy replacement products within the new time limits. Other critics have voiced concern that these limits on dosage and supply will make products more expensive, noting that many patients who are retired or otherwise on fixed budgets may have been previously making larger purchases based around sales or special deals. Pensacola doctor Michelle Beasley told The News Service of Florida that the process was, “unnecessarily burdensome” for patients, especially for older patients who may be experiencing cognitive declines. She said, “I do this full time and I have a medical doctorate and it’s taxing for my brain.” Beasly also said she thinks these new limits could add extra support to the state initiative to legalize recreational cannabis use. She said, “In my opinion … If you make the medical patients mad and limit their access to their medicine and make it expensive and harder to get, then they’re just going to say, ‘Screw this. I’m just going to sign the legalization petition so I don’t have to deal with jumping through these hoops.’” Comments are closed.
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